Captain William Driver, a shipmaster in Salem, Mass, was leaving on one of his many voyages aboard the brig Charles Doggett. It was 1831, and it was a voyage that would climax with the rescue of the mutineers of the Bounty. Some of Captain Driver’s friends presented him with a beautiful flag of twenty-four stars, and as the banner opened to the ocean breeze for the first time he exclaimed "Old Glory!"
The Captain retired to Nashville in 1837, taking the flag from his sea days with him. By the time the Civil War erupted, most people around Nashville recognized Captain Driver’s "Old Glory." So when Tennessee seceded from the Union, rebels were determined to destroy that flag, but repeated searches revealed no trace of the hated banner. Then on February 25, 1862, Union forces captured Nashville and raised the American flag over the capitol. It was a rather small ensign, so immediately folks began asking Captain Driver if "Old Glory" still existed. Some soldiers escorted Driver to his home where he began ripping at the seams of his bedcover. As the stitches holding the quilt-top to the batting unraveled, the onlookers peered inside and saw the 24-starred "Old Glory".
Captain Driver gently gathered up the flag and returned with the soldiers to the capitol. Though he was sixty years old, the Captain climbed up to the tower to replace the smaller banner with his own. The Sixth Ohio Regiment cheered and saluted and later adopted the nickname "Old Glory" as their own, telling and re-telling the story of Captain Driver’s devotion to the flag.
There are of course many other stories about how Americans are willing to risk their very lives to honor our National Ensign. To many, especially Marines, the Iwo Jima flag raising — subject of the most famous photograph in history — comes to mind.
Here’s one I can’t resist, because I’m a huge baseball fan: It’s the famous, goose bump-inducing incident 30 years ago at Dodger Stadium when Rick Monday rescued the flag from protesters in the outfield who were attempting to light it on fire. Remember that? Read it here. I mean, most people can agree at least not to desecrate the flag, right?
Yet still on occasion conflicts arise over how, when and even whether the flag should be honored, or in some cases protected. Consider the recent debate in Congress over a flag protection amendment. Another recent example arose during March over a question of honoring the flag in one of our local cities. Although the issue was recently resolved satisfactorily (four months later), I will tell you what happened.
It was the City of San Bernardino, our county seat, once named an "All-America City", whose elected leaders passed up an opportunity to embrace the flag during a time that many believe is a time of local crisis (because of a rampant crime problem). I have little doubt that most if not all other cities in San Bernardino County would have no problem displaying a large city-owned United States flag on days of national significance at their city halls. In this case the flag is a 30-foot by 22-foot banner purchased shortly after the 9-11 attacks. Well apparently some honcho at the city decided not to display the flag this year for whatever reason and the issue ended up being brought before the City Council by Councilman Chas Kelley (a Republican). Kelley’s measure would have required that the flag be displayed on days of observance such as Memorial Day, Flag Day, the Fourth of July, Veterans Day and September 11.
The Dem majority on the Council, including recently elected Mayor Pat Morris (a former Superior Court Judge), failed to rise to the occasion, twice rejecting motions to require the flag display. Some excuses that were given included a questionable cost estimate of $5,000 each time the oversized flag is flown. Another was that it was being proposed on mean-spirited grounds in response to recent Mexican flag-waving that occurred during immigration protests. One of the majority members called Kelley’s flag measure "grandstanding". Morris’ chief of staff told the Press-Enterprise that instead of supporting gestures like Kelley’s flag measure the Mayor is more concerned with issues "troubling" the city, like "safety on our streets and the economy for our residents."
While most everyone can agree that law enforcement and job creation should be top priorities for an administration, I for one didn’t see how this flag motion was inconsistent with either of those goals. San Bernardino is a city that needs to be inspired — not to see its leaders roll their eyes at an opportunity to do something that, while admittedly symbolic, was important to a group of citizens who really weren’t asking for much.
Since the elected leaders of San Bernardino were fumbling on the issue, a group of military veterans began circulating a petition for a referendum on the issue. As the San Bernardino County Sun quoted 75-year-old Korean War vet Leonard Chavez as saying: "This flag is not only made out of cloth, but it’s a symbol of the American people who fought in World War II, Vietnam, Korean War, Afghanistan and Desert Storm. There has been a lot of bloodshed for what this flag represents."
Finally, order began to be restored from a somewhat unlikely source: the San Bernardino County Sun editorial page. Read it here. And while the Sun, which seems to be on an extended honeymoon with Morris since his election in February, still characterized some of the flag proponents’ efforts as "grandstanding", the newspaper held its nose and editorialized on July 8 in favor of Old Glory, saying: "…there are legitimate times to pull out the banner the city last hoisted five years ago after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And that is on appropriate occasions, where the flag’s symbolism is revered, not flaunted…Rather than wait for a petition drive to force the issue, the council should reconsider its earlier understandable reluctance, and agree to fly the flag on its own merits on suitable occasions that are aside from less pure motives."
Two days later, the issue was finally resolved when Mayor Morris announced that by executive order the large flag would fly on five specified days and that the costs would be covered by funds raised from local businesses. (Because the related Sun article is no longer available on the newspaper’s website, it’s attached at the end of this post.)
So perhaps this San Bernardino flap was a lesson in picking one’s battles for the new Mayor. But regardless, in the end he deserves some credit in this case for eventually doing right by Old Glory. Long may it wave.