Have you ever lay flat on your stomach while thirty caliber machine gun bullets screamed and cracked near your head? We have.
Have you ever heard the ragged cry, “doctor!” and knew that a fellow soldier was seriously injured? We have.
Have you ever knelt beside the broken body of a fallen hero, your heart torn so thoroughly that you fought for every breath? We have.
Have you ever tied a dog tag to a friend’s shoelaces, knowing that his wife and young children would never fully recover from the profound loss that would change everything in their lives? We have.
We stood side by side before family, friends and a nation and pledged allegiance to our flag and to our country. We fought our way through intense training because we refused to let our nation or ourselves down. We are committed to serving with honor, courage and dignity. We have stuck our bodies out of the open doors of high-powered aircraft; clambered out of landing helicopters; and forced us to cut our way out of armored vehicles to attack and destroy the enemy.
We are the infantry; the front line; the defenders of democracy; the few men and women who kept America safe and paid the ultimate price. We have been the impenetrable barrier that has upheld these truths, that all men are created equal and endowed with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We are here, in this place and everywhere our nation sends us. We are the infantry: proud, capable, determined.
Honor and salute this flag that still stands. Pledge to support the free nation for which it stands, even if it means giving its last measure. Stand strong for America. We have.
Michael K. McMahan served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1972. As a field artillery officer, he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry on November 6, 1968 in Vietnam while assigned to an infantry company. He is a member of the OCS Field Artillery Hall of Fame at Fort Sill Oklahoma.
This article originally appeared in The Gaston Gazette: YOUR TURN: Honor and salute this flag that still stands
