T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY U.S. Army veteran Gary Barrett of Newton, standing, was the keynote speaker during the Marshalltown Elks Lodge #312 Flag Day program at the Iowa Veterans Home on Sunday afternoon. Barrett served from 1977 to 2009 and was deployed during Operation Desert Storm.

The Sweet Adelines performed several patriotic songs during the Flag Day program inside the Malloy Leisure Resource Center at the Iowa Veterans Home on Sunday afternoon.

T-R PHOTOS BY ROBERT MAHARRY
U.S. Army veteran Gary Barrett of Newton, standing, was the keynote speaker during the Marshalltown Elks Lodge #312 Flag Day program at the Iowa Veterans Home on Sunday afternoon. Barrett served from 1977 to 2009 and was deployed during Operation Desert Storm.

As the Stars and Stripes flew all over Marshalltown on Sunday in recognition of the Flag Day holiday, it was only fitting that a special ceremony was held inside the Malloy Leisure Resource Center at the Iowa Veterans Home for those who understand its continued importance better than anyone else.

The Marshalltown Elks Lodge #312 led the well-attended event with Esteemed Leading Knight Clayton Bramon serving as the emcee and the Sweet Adelines providing patriotic music, including the songs for each branch of the military. Cheryl Jost-Kelley shared some history of flags in the U.S. dating back to the colonial era and, of course, the designing of the first American flag credited to Betsy Ross with 13 stars and 13 stripes that first flew in battle on Aug. 3, 1777 at Fort Stanwix, N.Y. (also known as Fort Schuyler) during the Revolutionary War. After the U.S. victory, more stars were added as more states were admitted into the union (today, there are 50), and during the War of 1812, the flag inspired Francis Scott Key to pen “The Star-Spangled Banner,” now the country’s national anthem.

Bramon highlighted that Elks Lodge chapters around the country strongly promote and celebrate Flag Day, and he recited an oft-uttered quote — “the price of liberty is eternal vigilance” — to emphasize the historical importance of the flag throughout wars from the Revolutionary all the way up to recent conflicts in the Middle East.

He reflected on a resurgence in patriotism after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the prevalence of the flag in its aftermath.

“The greatest significance of this flag, however, lies in the influence it has in the hearts and minds of millions of people. It has waved over (the) unparalleled progress of a nation, in developing democratic institutions and technological knowledge, education and culture,” he said. “It has served as a beacon for millions of poor and oppressed refugees abroad and stands as a promise that the underprivileged will not be forgotten.”

Once the Pledge of Allegiance had been recited, the keynote speaker for the day, Army veteran Gary Barrett of Newton, who served from 1977 to 2009 and deployed during Operation Desert Storm, took over the microphone and shared his thoughts on the flag, noting that he had served alongside last year’s featured speaker, Steven Hyde of Marshalltown.

He began by asking the audience to imagine Key’s mindset as he wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” and to remember the flag’s role in escorting soldiers who were killed in action to their final resting places as well as the pivotal moments in history — perhaps most famously, at Iwo Jima near the end of WWII — when it prominently flew.

Barrett offered a special word of thanks to Vietnam veterans and lamented their treatment when they had returned from their service.

“I tell people every time I speak, I’m neither Republican nor Democrat. What I am, though, is a flag wavin’, God fearin’ American. How about you guys?” he asked to a hearty round of applause.

In a similar vein to Bramon, Barrett recounted the renewed sense of patriotism felt around the country after 9/11 and witnessing a flag that a teenager with spiked hair, tattoos and studs in his ears painted on his father’s garage in Newton with an eagle bursting out of it.

“It was his flag, his flag, and no one, not anyone, was gonna deface that garage door. I kind of felt sorry for his dad but so happy for the community that we had a great American that could do something like that,” Barrett said.

He also told the story of longtime U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain’s time as a prisoner of war (POW) in Vietnam and how one of his fellow prisoners sewed a flag from the material inside of his jacket and pledged allegiance to it every morning until North Vietnamese guards found out and brutally beat him. When he was released, he started sewing a new one.

“That’s patriotism. That’s love of the flag,” Barrett said.

He then recited the final lines of the national anthem and reminded the audience that “this is our land” and “our flag” before sharing another story about his then four-year-old grandson paying his respects to the stars and stripes during a parade. Barrett reminded everyone about proper flag etiquette and told veterans like himself to never hesitate to salute it.

“In closing today, I want you to remember ‘Oh say can you see, by the dawn’s early light.’ Proudly, proudly fly your flag and know that every day is a great day to be an American. God bless each one of you and God Bless America,” he said.

——

Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.