Sunday, June 13, 1999 | 9:06 a.m.
Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.
TOMORROW IS designated nationally as Flag Day. Some people believe that every day should be treated as Flag Day. It will be Monday and not a holiday, but you can bet numerous flags will be flying in our neighborhood. I'm sure that Old Glory will also be waving up in Sparks, where Becky Forgays lives.
It was just about a year ago that Becky's father, Raymond Bagley, lost his life to cancer. He had been a highly respected senior master sergeant with the Nevada Air National Guard for more than three decades before retiring. This service had been preceded by a tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force. He was the man who made certain that the aircraft were in flying shape and safe for the men who flew them. He was, as Becky says, a mechanic's mechanic.
In memory of her father, Becky placed a picture of him in the Reno Gazette-Journal more than a week ago. Above his picture were these words: "In memory of Flags and Fathers." Included in Becky's tribute was the following:
"We have been comforted by the honor that was expressed when the American flag was lifted up over my father's resting place, folded, and given to my mother. The colors of the flag have significant meaning for us in the light of my father's living and dying. Namely, red is for courage, signifying how he served his country and faced cancer; white is for liberty, which my father gave his best years to maintain; and lastly, blue is for loyalty. He was fiercely loyal to the Guard, his friends and his family. He exemplified each of these qualities in his lifetime. The flag has become a stark reminder of the tens of thousands of Americans who have served and died for our country. In a poem, Henry Ward Beecher writes, 'Our flag carries American ideas, American history, and American feelings. Forget not what it means. And for the sake of its ideas, be true to your country's flag.' The American flag has new meaning for me now as I seek to understand my father's life and death. I will not forget it -- and I will not fo
rget you, Dad."
When reading the tribute to Senior Master Sgt. Raymond Bagley, I recalled that after returning from my own father's funeral all that came back to Nevada with me was the flag which had draped over his casket. Several times previously, when in the military service, I had participated in presenting a flag to a widow or other survivor, but this time I was the recipient.
Our flag has always been important to me since the days I learned to pledge her my allegiance in a one-room schoolhouse in the backwoods of Wisconsin. Watching the special treatment our colors received in the hands of soldiers stationed at nearby Camp McCoy also impressed me.
Since those early years, additional experiences have added to my feelings for Old Glory. Carrying her in a parade or seeing her when raised and lowered on military bases around the world always gave me a feeling of pride. The flag of my country on the side of the hospital plane carrying me back home is recalled with ease.
In recent years, I've had the opportunity to see our flag fly over an Army outpost in the Sinai Desert and arrive painted on the side of a helicopter during a rescue mission in the jungles of Honduras and Nicaragua. Again, just last fall, following Hurricane Mitch, there she was on a plane bringing soldiers and relief supplies to the storm victims of Nicaragua.
Seven years ago in northern Iraq with the Kurds, I bummed a ride with U.S. Army Col. Richard Naab, a Notre Dame graduate, in his Blackhawk helicopter. The Kurds looked upon Naab as the true American hero he had become to them. Following that trip I wrote: "Flying in a chopper with Naab from Zakho to meet with several Kurdish leaders in Shaqlawah was a rewarding experience. He loves flying the American flag low over the countryside where people see it and wave to him and his men. During the flight of almost one hour, he continually pointed to villages and problems that concerned him. It was easy to see why the Kurds and his own men respect him."
So tomorrow we pay honor to the colors which have become a respected, loving symbol to people who have seen her arrive in time to protect their lives and deliver comfort and safety. The arrival of this same flag has become a warning to those individuals and nations who create misery for people who can't help themselves.
archive
