Posted on 06/20/2016 6:09:18 AM PDT by Texas Fossil
When a veteran started offering traditional remarks at a military flag-folding ceremony, several uniformed airmen assaulted him, dragging him out of the room because his remarks mentioned God. Now First Liberty Institute lawyers representing retired Senior Master Sergeant Oscar Rodriguez are demanding that the U.S. Air Force apologize and punish those responsible or face a federal civil-rights lawsuit.
For countless years, service members have given the “flag-folding speech” at military and civic events, including retirement ceremonies. Traditionally, this speech explains the colors, symbols, and history of the flag.
The flag-folding speech also contains several religious references, including, “Let us pray that God will reflect with admiration the willingness of one nation in her attempts to rid the world of tyranny, oppression, and misery. It is this one nation under God that we call, with honor, the United States of America.”
The speech closes with, “God bless our flag. God bless our troops. God bless America.”
In 2005, the Pentagon changed the speech to remove all references to the divine, substituting additional historical facts such as Neil Armstrong’s planting of an American flag on the moon in 1969. But many service members prefer the traditional speech and desire that version given at their own retirement celebrations.
video at link
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
bump
Every story I’ve seen, including Stars and Stripes, says he was personally invited to give the speech by the retiree.
Perhaps what your deacon meant is this....
....in a time of crisis......(i.e., soldier in a foxhole.....or lost souls being shot at in a nightclub)
.....those who don’t know the Lord will be more open to the Word.....will be more relenting to ministers or Christian friends talking to them....
....will be more receptive to intercessory prayer.
Story from the April incident.
“...A source who was present at the event told the military blog that Rodriguez was there at the request of the retiree, but had been banned from the base by the squadron commander.
A spokesman from the reserve said that the confrontation stemmed from “an unplanned participation” at the event.
“Rodriguez ignored numerous requests to respect the Air Force prescribed ceremony and unfortunately was forcibly removed,” a Travis official said in a statement to FoxNews.com. “We will continue to investigate the situation fully.”....”
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