thedrifter
01-01-09, 10:00 AM
In Last Official Act Of Duty Judge Kent ‘Retires’ Flags Given By Marines
By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer
Two tattered "flags of honor" flown during combat that have been displayed in the Smith County Courthouse since Sept. 11, 2001, were retired Wednesday by retiring District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent as her last official act of duty.
The U.S. Marine Corps flag was carried into battle by Cpl. Scott C. Massey and his fellow Marines. Massey served in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The flag is soiled with oil and blood, and after being blown from its mast, the flag was tied back on with shoelaces and carried further into battle.
The American flag was laid over the body of Massey's friend, an 18-year-old man who died in the desert fighting for his country. The flag was carried in the desert from Dec. 20, 1990, through Feb. 28, 1991.
Massey thanked Judge Kent for allowing him to hang the flags in her courtroom. He was not able to serve in the war in Iraq but wanted to do something after Sept. 11 and decided the flags needed to be publicly displayed.
Massey, formerly of Tyler, is a senior at Stephen F. Austin State University, and when the subject of war comes up, young people who have never left home have strong opinions, he said. Massey said he tells them what he told the packed courtroom on Wednesday.
"I'm a Marine to the bone ΓΆΒ?Β» It's not our job to make policy; we're not interested in that," he said. "It's our job to enforce that policy whenever our country calls us ΓΆΒ?Β» Sometimes we have to enforce that policy with the end of a bayonet; that's just the way it is."
Massey said the majority of the military men and women serving in Iraq volunteered to be there because they want to be there. He said they basically give the government their bodies and souls and know what they're getting into.
He said he couldn't believe it had been seven years since the flags were hung in the courtroom, and he once again thanked Judge Kent.
"It's really a sad day the judge is retiring ΓΆΒ?Β» There's always been a Judge Kent," he said. "She does great things and commands a lot of respect.
Five Marines clad in their dress blues officially retired the flags and retrieved them from the wood-paneled walls.
Massey said the flags would never again see the light of day unless his niece or nephew decides to recover them from storage.
LAST ACT OF DUTY
"We all remember that day (Sept. 11) that shook America" and reminded everyone how precious and fragile the nation and its freedom is, Judge Kent said.
Massey called Judge Kent shortly after that fateful day and asked is she would publicly display in her courtroom two flags that meant a great deal to him.
Judge Kent agreed, and a ceremony was held to display the "flags of honor" so they would remind everyone what liberty meant to the country, she said.
She promised Massey that the tattered U.S. Marine Corps and the United States flags would hang in her courtroom until the war ended or until she retired.
On Wednesday, after her last official day of presiding over court before retiring after 24 years, Judge Kent's final official duty was to have the framed flags taken down and retired.
Kent has often told defendants in her courtroom about the history of the flags and the courage of the men and women who carried them and the young man who died. She said she believed it had an effect on them.
Judge Kent said she was honored that as she retired, she retired the flags.
"Well the flags are retired and the work is done," Judge Kent said after the Marines took them down. She thanked Massey and the Marines and all that they represent.
Judge Kent, who has a son who served in Iraq, asked everyone in the courtroom who has had a family member serve in the military to stand, and everyone but a few in the packed courtroom rose.
"May God bless America, and may peace and justice rein in our nation forever," Judge Kent said before adjourning her court for the last time.
Ellie
By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer
Two tattered "flags of honor" flown during combat that have been displayed in the Smith County Courthouse since Sept. 11, 2001, were retired Wednesday by retiring District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent as her last official act of duty.
The U.S. Marine Corps flag was carried into battle by Cpl. Scott C. Massey and his fellow Marines. Massey served in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The flag is soiled with oil and blood, and after being blown from its mast, the flag was tied back on with shoelaces and carried further into battle.
The American flag was laid over the body of Massey's friend, an 18-year-old man who died in the desert fighting for his country. The flag was carried in the desert from Dec. 20, 1990, through Feb. 28, 1991.
Massey thanked Judge Kent for allowing him to hang the flags in her courtroom. He was not able to serve in the war in Iraq but wanted to do something after Sept. 11 and decided the flags needed to be publicly displayed.
Massey, formerly of Tyler, is a senior at Stephen F. Austin State University, and when the subject of war comes up, young people who have never left home have strong opinions, he said. Massey said he tells them what he told the packed courtroom on Wednesday.
"I'm a Marine to the bone ΓΆΒ?Β» It's not our job to make policy; we're not interested in that," he said. "It's our job to enforce that policy whenever our country calls us ΓΆΒ?Β» Sometimes we have to enforce that policy with the end of a bayonet; that's just the way it is."
Massey said the majority of the military men and women serving in Iraq volunteered to be there because they want to be there. He said they basically give the government their bodies and souls and know what they're getting into.
He said he couldn't believe it had been seven years since the flags were hung in the courtroom, and he once again thanked Judge Kent.
"It's really a sad day the judge is retiring ΓΆΒ?Β» There's always been a Judge Kent," he said. "She does great things and commands a lot of respect.
Five Marines clad in their dress blues officially retired the flags and retrieved them from the wood-paneled walls.
Massey said the flags would never again see the light of day unless his niece or nephew decides to recover them from storage.
LAST ACT OF DUTY
"We all remember that day (Sept. 11) that shook America" and reminded everyone how precious and fragile the nation and its freedom is, Judge Kent said.
Massey called Judge Kent shortly after that fateful day and asked is she would publicly display in her courtroom two flags that meant a great deal to him.
Judge Kent agreed, and a ceremony was held to display the "flags of honor" so they would remind everyone what liberty meant to the country, she said.
She promised Massey that the tattered U.S. Marine Corps and the United States flags would hang in her courtroom until the war ended or until she retired.
On Wednesday, after her last official day of presiding over court before retiring after 24 years, Judge Kent's final official duty was to have the framed flags taken down and retired.
Kent has often told defendants in her courtroom about the history of the flags and the courage of the men and women who carried them and the young man who died. She said she believed it had an effect on them.
Judge Kent said she was honored that as she retired, she retired the flags.
"Well the flags are retired and the work is done," Judge Kent said after the Marines took them down. She thanked Massey and the Marines and all that they represent.
Judge Kent, who has a son who served in Iraq, asked everyone in the courtroom who has had a family member serve in the military to stand, and everyone but a few in the packed courtroom rose.
"May God bless America, and may peace and justice rein in our nation forever," Judge Kent said before adjourning her court for the last time.
Ellie