“Placing one’s hand o’er heart during another country’s national anthem would be an act of respect rather than allegiance.”
I can clearly remember it, even though it was more than fifty years ago. Standing on a tarmac in another country. When the host country national anthem was played we respectfully stood at rigid attention. When the Stars and bars began you could literally hear the starch break in the uniforms as we all stiffened in unison and put our right hands over our hearts. To experience that is to know what our military does and why.