Honor America Night on Saturday will include patriotic words of wisdom from men who understand more deeply than most what freedom means.
A "Star Spangled Banner Moment" will include three community members speaking on what the American flag means to them.
Joel Andrews/The Lufkin Daily News |
Brian Crews, Printing Technologies instructor at Lufkin High School, and a former U.S. Marine, will share some of his experiences serving during the turbulent 1980s, when many servicemen and servicewomen were killed in Beirut, and he was on an honor detail delivering American flags to surviving family members back in the U.S.
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Ashley Cook/The Lufkin Daily News |
Joe Deason, Lufkin ISD recruiter and former Vietnam War vet, will talk about his year in South Vietnam and the effect it had on him, and the meaning of the U.S. flag to today's Americans.
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Ashley Cook/The Lufkin Daily News |
Norris Conditt, a Korean War vet, will be reading a poem by Johnny Cash, named 'The Ragged Old Flag.'
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Brian Crews is the Printing Technologies instructor at Lufkin High School. From 1980-90 he was in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving during a well-remembered time period that included Oct. 23, 1983 — when 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers lost their lives in Beirut after a terrorist bomb struck their barracks. In April of that year, 17 Americans, including one Marine, a journalist, CIA, State Department and U.S. Army instructors, were killed when a bomb struck the U.S. Embassy.
About that time in Broken Arrow, Okla., Crews, who had worked as a TOW anti-tank guided missile instructor — was among an honor detail commissioned to serve family members of the deceased as they were returning to their resting places. The impressions that service left with him, including memories of handing a folded flag into the arms of surviving loved ones, was something he won't forget. And it has since colored his understanding of what the American flag represents.
"It's a symbol of courage, pride, professionalism — for all those who have served or are currently serving — that many have fought and died for the freedoms that we take for granted," he said. "We should not forgot those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom."
Crews read a quote from former president Ronald Reagan that will be included in his speech:
"If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
Crews said events like Honor America Night are important to instill in youth the understanding and pride that what they do, the freedoms they enjoy, are available to them because of the sacrifices members of the military have made. Learning that is helped by keeping young people in closer contact with those who have served and are serving, he said, not only for teaching pride in country and appreciation of veterans, but in educating them on the good career options available through the military — careers in which the training can transition them into lucrative civilian jobs, he said.
Joe Deason, Personnel Recruiter for Lufkin ISD, joined the U.S. Army through the ROTC at Prairie View A&M, serving as a second lieutenant in an armored tank unit. He trained at Fort Knox and Fort Hood before heading to South Vietnam in April 1970 with the 11th Armored Cavalry. He stayed about one year before returning home.
His experience taught him that war wasn't like it was in the movies, and that while you do feel fear, it's something to move through and move on to whatever challenge you have to face — something the young people of today need to understand, he said.
"I had a wife and a 3-month-old baby. I didn't want to go, but it never crossed my mind that I had a choice," he said. "Being my parents' child, and an American citizen, that's something I was born into."
The flag reminds him that serving in the military when called is the duty of all Americans, he said. Not because they necessarily agree with all the politics, but because it's the "right thing to do," he said.
Norris Conditt is a retired Korean War veteran, having served with the 8th Army in the 1950s. In Korea, he worked to keep up roads and lay road surfaces between Incheon and Seoul, keeping the U.S. Army moving.
Conditt, who now proudly spends much of his time serving and supporting the Masonic Lodge in Lufkin, will be reading from a poem Saturday night to honor the American flag. The poem, written and sung by Johnny Cash, is titled, "The Ragged Old Flag."
The poem reads, in part, "So we raise her up every morning/And we bring her down slow every night/We don't let her touch the ground/And we fold her up right./On second thought/I do like to brag/Cause I'm mighty proud of/That Ragged Old Flag."
Conditt said he's noticed over the last few years that Americans' respect for their own flag and country has been getting ragged as well, sometimes disrespectful.
"And it kills my soul to see anybody doing it," he said.
There was a "whole lot more than meets the eye" to the meaning behind a flag, he said.
Honor America Night begins with a hot dog and apple pie supper and all the trimmings at 4:30 until 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lufkin High School cafeteria. At 7 p.m., at Abe Martin Stadium begins the rest of the evening, with patriotic music, speakers, presentations and one of Lufkin's largest fireworks shows of the year. Tickets are available for $5 from Grizzley's on First Street, or from any Lufkin ISD band member.
