The Flag, Christianity and Judaism Attacked and Silenced In One Fell Swoop
By GordonTaylor Posted in War — Comments (21) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Flag-folding Recitations for Vets Banned
For any of you that have ever participated in a Flag Folding Ceremony, it is a deeply moving experience. My hands tremble each time I have participated in it, because I know the meaning of each step.
Folding the American flag in a particular way is much more then tradition. Let me explain:
The 21 gun salute at military funerals stands for the sum of the numbers in the year - 1776
The honor guard pays meticulous attention to correctly folding the American flag 13 times. You probably thought it was to symbolize the original 13 colonies...what follows is the meaning of each fold.
The Meaning Below
The 1st fold of our flag is a symbol of life.
The 2nd fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.
The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.
The 4th fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.
The 5th fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decaur, "Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong.
The 6th fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States Of America, and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
The 7th fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.
The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.
The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.
The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.
The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews' eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians' eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.
The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding us of our nation's motto, "In God We Trust."
After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today.
The Veterans Administration has banned the recitations while folding the flag at all 125 Veterans Cemeteries, because of ONE complaint!
In particular, the recitation on the 11th fold was the subject of the complaint.
During thousands of military burials, the volunteers have folded the American flag 13 times and recited the significance of every fold to survivors. For example, the 12th fold glorifies "God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost."
The complaint revolved around the narration in the 11th fold, which celebrates Jewish war veterans and "glorifies the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."
The National Cemetery Administration decided to ban the entire recital at all national cemeteries. Details of the complaint weren't disclosed.
Please sign this petetion urging President Bush to rescind this order from the National Cemetery Administration.
So it's banned.
Why not make the flag folding ceremony available on request, and also allow someone from the family to select a more non-denominational rendering of 11 and 12?
It wasn't mandatory as it was.
Nothing is done at a Veteran's funeral that is not specifically requested.
Carlos: "What? Were they [Democrats]?"
Seth: "They look like [Democrats]? Is that what they looked like? They were vampires.
"[Democrats] do not explode when sunlight hits them."
I guess maybe I should have put my post on this on the front page instead? heh
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A discussion about editors not enabling comments on redhot posts. It was stated by an editor, maybe Erick, that the ideal situation with a redhot was for a user to take it and make a blog entry based on it. Maybe that's the deal here?
absentee
I do get the impression Red Hot isn't read as much as the rest of the site though.
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Let's nominate the Nash Equilibrium for President.
I get the same impression. Mainly it's the comments thing I think. If there was a daily open thread, or even an open thread once or a twice a week, it would be a place people could discuss red hot entries.
absentee
Dan's and Ben's and Moe's Redhots are high traffic. blackhedds are viewed as important and earth shaking reading. It's just yours we ignore. Because of your age.
____
CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
up so you can quench your thirst for blood this evening! (And shame on you--you're supposed to nurture and encourage children, not poke pointy sticks at them for fun.) :-)
Ron is the only True Conservative running and all the others are in the pay of the Joos!
Carlos: "What? Were they [Democrats]?"
Seth: "They look like [Democrats]? Is that what they looked like? They were vampires.
"[Democrats] do not explode when sunlight hits them."
Well that's not the worst company, heh.
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Let's nominate the Nash Equilibrium for President.
that it boggles the mind.
How dare a government in America censor or suppress any citizen's right to participate in a ceremony like this just becuase some misanthrope wackjob whines about it?
Shame on the bitter crank who complained about this, and triple shame on the bureaucrat who used that complaint as an excuse to impose their own vile prejudice.
that nothing about this government or country was designed or intended to prevent its people from ofending one another. It is an imposible task and the ammendment that provides for freedom of speech was certainly not meant to stand in the way of speaking out against something regardless of the "feelings" of the intended target. One can even direct offense at the government if we so choose. You are quite right that the government should not be censoring this or any other ceremony and the complaining individual should have been told not to attend if it bothered him so much. And if the individual was a fellow Jew, then so much more shame on him for his misunderstanding of our Jewish culture and our American heritage.
Just why do I know that this complaining idiot has not had one family member honorably serve?
It is an insult to every Cross and Star of David on the fields of Normandy, Saipan, Guadalcanal and numerous other foreign fields where our honored dead lie.
More shame to the coward (PC addict) at the VA who made the decision. I can't think of a malediction vile enough for their action.
I know that if one of my relatives in the military were to fall in battle, I would want them to have this honor. Anyway, I guess that I just don't understand the mentality of people who find silly reasons to be offended by minutia that doesn't affect them--thus raining on other's parades or imposing their will on other people. It sounds to me that the person who made this complaint had entirely too much time and on his or her hands. By the way, thanks Gordon for going through the trouble to post the details of this ceremony. I learned something new today.
Ceremonies, the functions of the burial detail in the 1960's.
If the personel were available, there was an Officer or NCO in charge, an NCO and six pallbearers, an NCO and usually three or four firers, and one or two (the echo) buglers.
I also rehearsed the burial details before the actual funeral ceremony. The folding of the flag was an important part of the ceremony and was done without a word being spoken.
I believe that the spoken ceremony was introduced by the burial details furnished by veteran's organizations and is not part of FM 22-5, Drills and Ceremonies.
I guess my question about the whole thing is "Who says that these 13 are the meaning?" As best as I can tell by my online research, it was written by an anonymous chaplain at the US Air Force Academy in the 1980s. And putting the "In the eyes of the X citizen" just makes things worse. So to a Jew, the 12th fold means nothing? To a Christian the 11th fold means nothing?
Again: This ceremony would never be performed without prior permission from the family.
So what's your point?
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Let's nominate the Nash Equilibrium for President.
I've never heard of this recitation before, and nobody suggested it for my Father's recent burial at Lincoln National Cemetary. The honor guard simply folded the flag in complete, reverent, silence. It was a wonderful moment, honoring his service and the Flag by quiet reflection and a very careful attention to detail.
And I'm glad they didn't suggest that 13-fold recitation. I would greatly prefer silence -- allowing people to reflect in their own way on the meaning of the veteran's life and sacrifices.
But the family can say whatever they want -- so if you like the 13-fold explaination then have someone say it. Hell, if you want to sing old drinking songs you can do that too.
consist of seven persons. The number depends upon the personel avilable and any other commitments. The firing party fires three volleys. Don't ask me why three volleys because I have never been able to get a satisfactory answer.
The twenty-one gun salute is used internationally to salute heads of state and consists of twenty-one single shots from an artillery piece or pieces.
By the way, an old gunner's chant used for the timing of either the volleys at a funeral or the shots for a head of state is "If he wasn't guilty, we wouldn't be here." Its a nonsense phrase but it provides perfect timing.