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thedrifter
07-04-07, 07:21 AM
Published July 4, 2007
JULY 4TH »

Patriots stand tall today

Patriots appreciate the freedoms they have.

Wes Johnson
News-Leader

In the Ozarks, patriots proudly fly the American flag from sunrise to sunset.

They speak up and challenge the status quo, mindful the Constitution protects their right to do so.

Some show patriotism subtly, with a lapel pin honoring victims of 9/11.

And others put their lives on the line overseas, while loved ones pray for their safe return home.

Springfieldians Dell and Kathe Moore witnessed a pure act of patriotism recently when a woman approached their son Marcus, who was wearing his Missouri National Guard uniform.

"She came up and shook his hand and said 'thank you,' and walked away," Dell Moore said. "I'm proud and very thankful a stranger would do that. To me, that's patriotism."

The woman had no clue she was thanking a hero.

Marcus Moore, 30, an Apache helicopter pilot in Iraq, recently earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the highest flying medals an airman can receive.

Fleeing to freedom

Mel Saunders is free today thanks to his parents' decision to leave Jamaica for a better life in the United States.

"It's neat to say we're the first Americans born on our side of the family," said Saunders, 31, a Springfield financial consultant. "The reason they moved from Jamaica was because this country offers more rights, more liberties, better education. It would be better for their families."

His father, Roy, served in the Air Force and later worked for and retired from Boeing.

"He would always say how lucky we are to be in this country," Saunders said. "This is a country that's full of opportunity. Nothing in the world is given to you, but if you work hard, America gives you the right to succeed. It's one of the few places you have that right. It's a privilege living here."

It's patriotic to speak up

Drury University student Nathan Bloomfield, 22, said a true patriot acts on his beliefs.

"If you sit by and do nothing while your government does things you disagree with, then you're acting in a way that's opposite of the way the founders of our country did," he said.

Bloomfield said the Fourth of July is celebrated to mark our founders' decision to be independent of England.

"What they did was a treasonous act against England," he said. "But by signing the Declaration of Independence, they were serving the higher cause of liberty."

When Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan visited Drury, Bloomfield carried a sign that read "The president has no clothes."

He said he was being a patriot by expressing his opposition to a war he believed was corrupted by big business.

"To me, being a patriot is expressing one's views in the face of something that's clearly wrong," he said. "To do so is to act in accordance with the values of the people that forged the Constitution."

Patriotism on his lapel

Springfield resident William Johnson takes a low-key approach to show how he feels about his country.

He often wears a red-white-and-blue tie to work and a special pin on his lapel.

"That pin represents all the firefighters and police and everybody that got killed at the World Trade Center," Williams said. "I bought it to show my support for them."

Williams said people often inquire about the pin.

"It gives you an opportunity to talk about what happened."

Williams said everyone should respect the American flag, and he was disturbed recently when a neighbor began flying the flag upside down.

Such a display is considered a sign of distress.

"We were wondering if they were in distress or if they were saying the United States is in distress," Johnson said. "I don't think the U.S. actually is in distress yet. There no war at home here."

Although he didn't talk to the neighbor, the upside-down flag came down a day later.

While researching flag etiquette, Johnson said he learned the Code of the American Flag considers it inappropriate and disrespectful to wear clothing made up in stars and stripes.

Does that mean he'll stop wearing his patriotic tie?

"I'm not going to retire my tie," he quipped. "It shows I'm glad to be be an American. But a bikini made out of the flag? I don't think that's very appropriate."

Flag waves daily

Battlefield resident Bill Stack sells flags and flagpoles as a sideline business, Battlefield Flag Pole Co. — The American Flagman.

He makes his patriotic statement almost every day by raising Old Glory to the top of a 30-foot pole in his yard.

He said it annoys him when young people seem to have no clue about showing respect for the flag or the national anthem.

"The younger a person is there's less inclination to salute the flag or put their hand over their heart when the national anthem is played," Stack said. "Parents need to set a good example about patriotism at a very early age. The older you start, the less you're going to accomplish."

Stack said he takes patriotism to heart by refusing to buy or sell goods that aren't made in America.

"I don't handle anything that not American made," he said. "Why buy an American flag made in China just because it's a few cents cheaper? That's just the way I feel about it."

Taking fire for Marines

Marcus Moore, a 1995 Kickapoo High School graduate, won the Flying Cross by helping to provide aerial cover for Marines on the ground, along with three other Apache helicopters.

According to an official military account, three improvised explosive devices detonated on the ground, knocking out the Marines' communication gear and wounding several men.

Though low on fuel, the Apache pilots stayed on scene and provided key communication links long enough for a convoy to arrive and evacuate the wounded.

Insurgents on the ground opened fire on the helicopters, and Moore's chopper was hit in the tail wheel, underside, transmission and rocket pod.

The pilots left to refuel but went back — despite the damage.

"I felt that I needed to help the guys on the ground no matter what," Moore later told military reporters. "I was going to do anything to make sure that the Marines were OK."

The Apache team dodged a rocket-propelled grenade that exploded in the air, and took more ground fire, but stayed to protect the Marines as they escaped the trap.

Although his Apache bristled with weapons, Moore said he couldn't fire back.

"There was a large amount of civilians around and the insurgents were mixed in with innocent people, making retaliation almost impossible. All I was concerned about was getting the insurgents to quit shooting at the ground guys."

For showing "heroism and extraordinary achievement," Moore and airmen from three other Apache crews received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

"A lot of Marines could have gotten killed if they hadn't gone back," Dell Moore said of his son's actions. "The Apaches would drop down and draw fire to help out the Marines."

"As a mom, I kind of just cringed when I heard about it," Kathe Moore said. "Prayer has helped a lot."

After 18 months in Iraq, Marcus Moore hopes to return to his wife, Megan, and daughter Ashlyn in Warrensburg within two weeks. A cheery red Elmo painted on Moore's helmet — Ashlyn's favorite cartoon character — reminds him of who is waiting back home.

"To me, patriotism is believing in my country and in all of our servicemen, and putting faith and trust in them that they'll take care of us," Megan Moore said. "You know, the people in Iraq are not free. I think we sometimes take a lot of things for granted in this country, and freedom is one of them."

Ellie