LENOIR, N.C. – Flag Day was on June 14, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about it, which is why I published A Few Words from the U.S. Code About Respect for the Flag on Saturday.
It seems I’ve not been the only person thinking about it. Below is a “Letter to the Editor” from a member of our editorial team, Alan Eddington, in response to that article. If you are a regular reader of the Appalachian Chronicle, you are not a stranger to him. As soon as I received his comment, I knew that it deserved its own post. So it is below, along with a bit of an explanation of his father’s experience during World War II.
By Alan Eddington
“This is a very timely and pertinent posting regarding the flag of the United States. I say timely, because just last week, June 14, to be precise, was the annual commemorative holiday, Flag Day. This year on June 14, as I was scanning various online news feeds and listening to both national and local TV newscasts, I did not come across even a single mention of Flag Day. This was deeply distressing to me, for I am old enough to remember when Flag Day was a significant event in our communities, even though not an official public holiday.
“In the small town where I grew up in central Illinois, every merchant in the business district prominently flew the flag on June 14. The majority of homes also proudly displayed the flag on this day. As kids, this public display etched a deep lesson upon our young minds and hearts, that this flag symbolized something precious and significant in society. So now, as an aging American, it is highly distressing to witness such a powerful symbol being relegated to insignificance. And when it is desecrated in an attempt for cheap political gain, it is not only distressing, but downright infuriating!
“When a nation and a civilization loses its fundamental symbols of unity and pride, this does not bode well for the future.
“My father ‘flew the Hump’ for two years during World War II. Mr. Barrick has referenced many examples of individuals in his family who have so valiantly served our country. In honor of their heroic sacrifices and for the sake of succeeding generations, it is vital for all of us to rally around the Flag of the United States and reclaim its fundamental clarion call to peace, freedom and justice!”
“Flying the ‘Hump’ Lifeline to China
When Mr. Eddington refers to “the Hump,” he is referencing a years-long mission that was among the most dangerous of the entire war.
According to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, “Flying the ‘Hump’ was the foremost and by far the most dangerous, difficult, and historic achievement of the entire war” (said) General Albert C. Wedemeyer, Commander, US Forces—China.
It continues, “A primary objective in the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI) was resupplying Allied forces fighting the Japanese military in China. With materiel support, the Allies could prevent Japanese victory and keep their forces from shifting elsewhere. Until mid-May 1942, the Burma Road had been the access route for supply delivery. However, with the Japanese pushing west through China to the border of India, taking Burma along the way, the Allies looked for another way to keep the more than 50,000 American and 200,000 Chinese soldiers well-equipped in China.”
The bravery required for the harrowing – and often deadly mission – was required from the first instant. The Air Force Museum reveals, “Despite being the closest point for supply distribution, the Assam Valley in India was still 550 miles from China. To fly the ‘Hump,’ transport aircraft would take off from just 100 feet above sea level in India and climb at a drastic rate of 300 feet per minute until they reached 18,000 feet to navigate the Himalayan Mountains. The descent into the mountains of China at roughly 6,000 feet completed the route.” You can read the full account here.
Credit: National Museum of the United States Air Force
Mr. Eddington has every right to be infuriated. The flag has been hijacked and betrayed by the Jan. 6 insurrectionists and their allies.
Frankly, I’m stunned that we’re even having to write about this. After watching the insurrection live, when traitors masquerading as patriots carried the Confederate flag into the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol – something that didn’t happen in our Civil War of the 19th Century – I was certain justice would be served, and quickly.
Instead, the opposite has happened, which is why I am fixated on the misuse of the Stars and Stripes. As we enter the fourth year of our Civil War II, insurrectionists, Congress and the Courts are doing all they can to undo our Republic. Making the historical symbolism of the flag meaningless reveals a level of civic ignorance that is alarming.
I’m not going to remain quiet about that. Like Mr. Eddington, I am infuriated. Those misusing the flag must be challenged. Otherwise we will forget what Mr. Eddington recalls – the flag represents a “clarion call to peace, freedom and justice!” At the beginning of the Civil War I had two ancestors start pro-Union newspapers in Morgantown, Va. (now West Virginia) in direct opposition to the pro-slavery, anti-Republic rebellion. Sadly, their work is still not done! As with my ancestors, I suspect that those fighting the anti-Republic forces within our borders (and their foreign sponsors) just might find that working for “peace, freedom and justice” becomes the balance of their life’s work.
Many in every generation before us have decided that It’s worth it. There is no choice. Silence is consent.
© Michael M. Barrick, 2024.
The Appalachian Chronicle 
I am deeply appreciative for this additional post, emphasizing the point that I was trying to make in my original ‘comment’.
As a bit of a follow-up regarding my dad and his ‘flying the hump’ during WWII, this air route between India and China is also sometimes referred to as the “Aluminum Alley”. More than half of the flights crashed, mostly in the Himalaya Mountains. In an attempt to make the turn-around time more efficient, these cargo planes had no doors. As a result, the planes could not be pressurized for high altitude flying. This meant that the planes could not fly over the Himalaya’s, as the peaks were too high. Instead, the planes had to fly through the valleys between the mountains, where horrific air currents and violent weather were often more severe than the planes could handle, and so they crashed. For 2 years straight, my dad served as a radio operator on these missions. When he finally returned home in 1946, he came home to a 2-year old son whom he had never seen – me! I understand that the tears of joy flowed for quite some time!
I seem to remember being taught in my English composition courses that one is not supposed to rely on emotions when writing an essay. Be that as it may, knowing what my dad went through to honor the Flag of the United States, and all of the good that it stands for, I do get quite emotional!