Tip of the hat to the late patriot Don Walker.
As I’d never heard of Major Baseball League player Rick Monday’s
act to defend the flag until Free Republic, I feel compelled to
make mention of it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Monday
American Flag Incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Monday
American Flag Incident
The two most famous moments of Monday’s career were both associated
with the Dodgers. In the first, on April 25, 1976, during a game at
Dodger Stadium, two protesters, William Thomas and his 11-year-old son,
ran into the outfield and tried to set fire to an American flag they
had brought with them.
Monday, then playing with the Cubs, noticed they had placed the flag
on the ground and were fumbling with matches and lighter fluid;
he then dashed over and grabbed the flag from the ground to thunderous cheers.
He handed the flag to Los Angeles pitcher Doug Rau, after which the
ballpark police officers arrested the two intruders. When he came
up to bat in the next half-inning, he got a standing ovation from
the crowd and the big message board behind the left-field bleachers
in the stadium flashed the message,
“RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY...”
He later said, “If you’re going to burn the flag, don’t do it around me.
I’ve been to too many veterans’ hospitals and seen too many broken bodies
of guys who tried to protect it.”[2] On August 25, 2008, Monday was presented with an American flag flown over Valley Forg
e National Historical Park in honor of his 1976 rescue.[3]
At the end of the season, the Cubs traded Monday to the Dodgers in
a five-player deal with two players (one of whom was Bill Buckner) going
to the Cubs.
At the September 2nd, 2008 Los Angeles Dodgers game, Rick Monday was
presented with a Peace One Earth medallion by Patricia Kennedy,
founder of the non-profit organization Step Up 4 Vets, for his actions
on April 25, 1976 and his military service with the Marine Corps.
Mea culpa: I meant to say “Dan Walker”