I'm looking for our flag. What is the 4th of July without "Old Glory?"
When David and I were in the sixth grade at Lincoln Elementary School, we sang the patriotic songs, "You're a grand old flag.." We even memorized the "Gettyingsburg Address," by Abe Lincoln.
Everyday we said the Pledge of Allegiance- we loved America then and we love it now. Patriotism ran through our blood.
We believed the words from the poem on the Statue of Liberty,
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
—Emma Lazarus, 1883)
But, these teeming masses came legally. In 1926, and knowing how deeply his father and family wanted to emigrate from Holland to America, a great-uncle joined the Dutch navy at age 16 and labored for four years to earn the money to send his family to America. Then he returned to the navy and worked four more years until it was finally his turn to go to America. He arrived at Ellis Island only to be told his sight were so bad that he wouldn't be allowed to enter America. Discouraged, he returned to Holland and re-enlisted in the navy and was later lost at sea. Still, his parents and eight of his siblings enjoyed the freedom and liberty to live in
America because of his sacrifice.
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3 comments:
That is a very interesting story, I hadn't heard that one before. I think it is so neat that you and David share memories all the way back to elementary school.
You know Patty I was very upset about the folks protesting "One nation under God," part of the pledge alligiance. I love the quote, seems the words are timeless, especially today!
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Essay on Patriotism
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