Last night I had dinner with some dear friends and I asked about the story behind the Purple Heart that hung on his office wall. “Can you tell me about that?” I asked. “We saved the flag” was his immediate response. “There were only two of us left, but we saved the flag.” Piece by piece of the dramatic, lengthy battle came out until I felt an overwhelming sense of pride and gratitude toward the courageous man that stood before me. The stab wound on his leg, and the several operations that followed, left a very visible marking of the event many years later. He is a Marine, a Vietnam veteran and, although he won’t accept the title, a modern-day hero.


FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young soldier saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No Freedom is not free
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No Freedom isn't free!

©Copyright 1981 by Kelly Strong
(posted with permission of the author)


Today, we experience many freedoms because of the sacrifices of others. Our freedoms are so plentiful and available that we naturally tend to take them for granted. Where do you live? What do you do for a living? It’s your choice. Have you been grateful lately for those freedoms? You have the freedom of speech and the freedom to worship God in your own way.

However, what if men and women over time weren’t willing to stand up for what was right and fight for the flags of freedom? Imagine how different your life would be right now. I want to encourage you to do two things:

• Stand up for what you believe in.
• Acknowledge others who have stood up before you.

Stand up for what you believe in. Ultimately, the greatest success you can have is being able to look in the mirror and see a winner looking back. Don’t do something because you think you ‘should’ do it, because your neighbor is doing it, or because you are pressured to do it. Rather, determine what is right, plant your flag and stand by it because you believe in it. Will there be consequences? Of course there will—either way. However, at the end of the day only one choice allows you to enjoy the self-respect that comes from following your convictions.

Yes, it’s true—freedom isn’t free. Benjamin Franklin said, “They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.” Robert Frost simply wrote, “Freedom lies in being bold.”

This post is an acknowledgement of my friend Ron, and all the other bold men and women, who “saved the flag” of freedom. I woke up on this beautiful day, February 10, 2008 with a renewed appreciation of freedom and I thank everyone who has made it possible.