Posted on 08/30/2002 7:45:11 AM PDT by Kennesaw
'Don't Tread On Me' flags set sail on all Navy ships
By Rick Chernitzer, Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Friday, August 30, 2002
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — It used to be something the USS Kitty Hawk could call its own.
Traditionally, only the Navy’s oldest actively commissioned ship — currently the Kitty Hawk, now based here — has the honor of flying the “First Navy Jack” flag, a rattlesnake moving across a field of 13 red stripes above the warning “Don’t Tread On Me.”
But Navy Secretary Gordon England’s recent directive authorized all Navy ships to fly it in place of the Union Jack at the front of each vessel, to show the Navy’s solidarity with the war on terrorism.
“The temporary substitution of this Jack represents an historic reminder of the nation’s and Navy’s origin and will to persevere and triumph,” his letter stated.
The flag’s origins are believed to be based on a political cartoon Benjamin Franklin drew to encourage feuding colonies to unite against England.
It was based on a then-popular myth that a rattlesnake, chopped apart, could return to life if the pieces were rejoined. The cartoon showed a rattlesnake cut into sections, each to represent a colony; the caption warned, “Join or die.”
The phrase “Don’t Tread On Me” is credited to a band of newly enlisted Marines in 1775.
These elements, with the 13 red stripes for the colonies, were combined to comprise the first Navy flag. It made its battle debut in Fall 1775, as the Continental Navy prepared to engage the British fleet in the Delaware River.
The Kitty Hawk received its jack from the USS Independence in 1998.
The secretary’s letter states that each ship is to receive four flags. But for now, they’re in such short supply that ships from around the world are calling the Kitty Hawk seeking spares, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles Mishoe, a Kitty Hawk signalman.
“We didn’t have any to give them, but we also gave them information on how to get them,” he said. “We didn’t just leave them hanging.”
The Kitty Hawk is allowed to buy the flags from outside sources.
Lt. j.g. Dave Fleming, USS Cushing’s information systems officer, said his ship expects to receive its flags soon.
The jack’s motto, “Don’t Tread On Me,” makes the Navy’s role in the conflict “self-explanatory,” he said. “I think it’s great … so that no one else decides to take action against the United States.”
Several junior enlisted sailors, whose daily duties include raising the First Navy Jack on the ship during morning colors, predicted seeing a waterfront filled with the historic flag will strengthen their resolve.
“It’s kind of cool that it will be on every ship,” said Airman Recruit Kevin Anderson. “It says ‘Don’t Tread On Me,’ and that’s more than a statement.”
But Navy Airman Jane Cruz from the Kitty Hawk said while making the flag a common symbol is a great honor to those who are serving in the Navy, “Can we get another flag to show we’re the oldest ship?”
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" had a killer bunny...
That is not an ordinary rabbit...
'Tis the most foul, cruel and bad-tempered thing you ever set eyes on.
That rabbit's got a vicious streak. It's a killer! Run away, run away!
I Fly Culpepper at my house and have the Gadsen on my Car.
>:)
on a bomb dropped in Afghanistan post 9/11. Something about the misspelling of HIJACK that makes it fun.
I prefer:
"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..."
Throw the rascals out and support the Constitution!
I like your Come And Get Some snake!
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