re: Would you be bothered if you learned your son/daughter didn't stand for the pledge?

I did better than that .....You who question this, take notice.

Far East Command issued an order to be followed. 1971. We got together and decided to protest. The entre football team at Yamato High School in Tokyo, Japan. We went to our Dad's first. Then we all met , Dad's and Sons at Camp Drake Basketball Arena. We explained why and explained our purpose .......First issue, when your best friend is the base commander's son ........there is an edge.

Jimi Hendrix was in the movie Woodstock and played the National Anthem. Some of us going to Viet Nam. Some not coming back. The decision to withdraw had already been made.

We explained. Our lives have been on bases. We stand, we follow the rules .....We have a right to protest. All we to do is simple. When the movie starts playing, we stand. The movie will stop, the house lights go up and we get kicked out. .We leave in an orderly fashion.

On the night the movie played at our base .....All of our Dad's were on the back row of the theater. We walked in and sat down. Movie started, Jimi Hendrix came out, we stood up. Movie stopped, house lights on .......ushered out. My Dad and the rest of the Officers and NCO's watching.....We walked out, met our Girlfriends in the line outside, got back in, line, got our tickets and we back for the second show.

We made our statement, paid the price dictated and said no more.

We were the closest to the action, recovery and rehab bases around ......We saw the price first hand. We saw our Dad's go to war and return. Our actions after our protest honored our Dad's . .....We lost Classmates.

My son was taught to respect that sacrifice. I could give a crap about the reason we went to war .......We honored their sacrifice and ours.

To this day .....Take your damned hat off and stand ....For them ....

I had the honor to officiate football in a crew where everyone was a member of a River Boat Crew. The longest service 6 months. Everyone of those guys were wounded. One night I got a touch confused . Large flag in the south endzone, in the north endzone another large flag .....In front of the band a Color Guard ......"Which flag do we put out hand over our heart?" "THE COLOR GUARD ALWAYS GETS THE ATTENTION!"

"Damned Military Brats......"

I'm the guy in the airport that always booms out :GUYS! coming or going?" "Thank you for your service!" and start clapping ......Embarrassed my Boss constantly. He was Korean .....kept telling him "You are here because of them."