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It is the red, white, and blue American flag — symbol of freedom and hope around the globe.

Old Glory Will Forever Fly

By Jimmy Reed ——--June 29, 2012

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I’ve had my share of wins and losses, but one thing I can never lose — one thing that grows stronger with time — is my love for America.
As did my father, I followed this nation’s flag to foreign shores, proudly wearing a military uniform in service of the greatest, most powerful country on earth. Every day, I salute the flag that draped across Dad’s coffin. It is the flag that will drape across my coffin … the flag that will be properly folded and presented to my daughters. It is the red, white, and blue American flag — symbol of freedom and hope around the globe. I thank God every day that I was born in the land over which that flag flies, and when my time comes to rest in her soil, I, like my father, will be honored to have Old Glory draped across my coffin.
My favorite actor, John Wayne, who himself is one of the most enduring symbols of the American spirit, never missed an opportunity to stand up for his country. In a narrative entitled “America, Why I Love Her,” he chronicled some of the reasons for his undying devotion to the land of the free and the home of the brave … the land that celebrates its birthday every July Fourth. The Duke’s reasons are among the countless reasons all real, patriotic Americans should cherish an abiding affection for this hallowed land:
“Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain? Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way? Have you watched cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay? Have you heard a bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines, or heard a diesel’s bellow at Appalachia’s mines? Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar? Do you look with awe and wonder at her Massachusetts shore, where men who braved a hard new world first stepped on Plymouth’s rock? And do you think of them when you stroll a New York City dock? “Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies, way up high? Have you seen the sun blazing in a bright Nevada sky? Do you hail the Columbia as she rushes to the sea, or bow your head at Gettysburg at our struggle to be free? Have you seen the mighty Tetons? Have you watched an eagle soar? Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri’s shore? “Have you felt a chill at Lake Michigan when, on a winter’s day, her waters rage along the shore in thunderous display? Does the word “Aloha” make you warm? Do you stare in disbelief, when you see the surf roaring in at Waimea Reef? “From Alaska’s cold to the Everglades, from the Rio Grande to Maine, my heart cries out, my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain. “You ask me why I love her? I’ve a million reasons why: My beautiful America, Beneath God’s wide open sky, over which … Old Glory will forever fly.”

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Jimmy Reed——

Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.

This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.

Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).

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