Sidebar: OrangeVerse (LXV)

As I mentioned in Friday's OrangeVerse, the president spent time during his July 4th speech recognizing some American heroes and honoring different American flags with relevance to the heroic acts or the times during which the acts occured. Here are his comments.

The Civil War

Few heroes remind us of these truths more than William Carney, who escaped slavery to become a Union soldier in the Civil War, which was a very big, big deal at the time.

On the front lines of battle he saw a comrade struck down by enemy fire while carrying the Stars and Stripes. And Sergeant Carney dove to the ground to keep the flag from touching the mud. He didn't want to have it touch the ground. He didn't want to have it touch the mud. He wanted it to be perfect.

He raised it high above the field and was shot four times. They thought he was gone, but he kept moving forward. He loved our country. He loved our flag before he returned to camp and announced, "Boys, the old flag never touched the ground."

And he became the first African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. He got the Congressional Medal of Honor, and he was the first African American, and he was some man. They've written stories about him. He was something special.

The Vietnam War

With us tonight to celebrate this forward march of freedom is another Medal of Honor recipient, Colonel Paris Davis, whose courage won eternal glory in Vietnam. He helped lead a surprise attack on 100 enemy combatants. They said he was finished. His whole group was finished, and despite multiple life-threatening wounds saved the lives of his fellow soldiers.

And this evening he stands to salute the only flag of its kind, the one that was draped over the casket of President Abraham Lincoln in Independence Hall. Thank you very much, Greg.

He looks better than I do. He looks great, and he's brave. Because of heroes like these, our flag will always be a symbol of liberty and justice for all. Colonel Davis, thank you very much. Great man. Great man. Thank you.

The Wild Wild West

American grit, boldness and daring forged heroes like Davy Crockett, Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, Teddy Roosevelt and the legend of the Wild West, Buffalo Bill Cody.

These were great, powerful people whose incredible grandchildren happen to be with us tonight, and they stand alongside one of the first American flags ever to fly over our expanding nation. It was carried West just as Lewis and Clark began their journey in 1803.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Great to have you. Great to have you to honor this audacious and indomitable soul of America.

Historic American Flags

We also have the first flag ever to fly over one of the greatest architectural feats of all time, a thing called the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the most beautiful bridges anywhere in the world built a long time ago.

To its right, the banner that flew atop our flagship after America's Navy sank the Spanish fleet to the bottom of the Manila Bay, one of the greatest naval victories in history. Much like our recent victory by sinking the entire Iranian Navy, 159 ships to the bottom of the sea, all done in just a moment's time. Happened very quickly. We have the greatest military anywhere in the world.

And next to it, we also have the flag that was given to that immortable, just a fantastic immortal Rough Rider, the one and only, and I was at the museum the other day at its opening, Theodore Roosevelt, when he returned triumphant from Cuba, printed with the words, "Welcome home, Colonel Roosevelt." It was a victory of San Juan Hill. He was a great gentleman.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor 

Ken Schubring was 19 years old when he survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After enemy planes sank ships like the USS Arizona, he resolved that he would help America strike back and win. He wanted them to strike back and win.

Flying B-29s in the Pacific, Ken fought from the first day to the very last. He was in the war right from the first day, and he went to the last day, and all the way to the enemy's... And he went to the last day and all the way to the enemy's unconditional surrender. We got an unconditional surrender. He was there at 104 years old and looking really good. Captain Schubring is here tonight and he is saluting the flag that went down with the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, but was raised back up with the help of some unbelievable American patriots. It's a symbol of American defiance, please. Thank you Captain. Thank you, Captain.

Great job. Thank you very much. You have very good genes. That's his son. His son's going to be around a long time. Thank you very much, Captain. 

World War II 

On D-Day in World War II, Navy Lieutenant Arthur Rose commanded 36 landing craft as part of the largest naval armada in history. Recalling that site he wrote home to his parents. What a country we are at 107 years old. Lieutenant Rose is here to salute one of our nation's most prized possessions. The flag that flew aboard the first landing craft on D-Day and led the first Americans onto the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe and defeat Nazi fascism forever. Lieutenant Rose, you are an inspiration to this beautiful crowd and we thank you very much. Amazing man. 107. It's 107. 

On Iwo Jima in the Pacific, the Marines faced some of the most brutal combat in the history of warfare. They shed their blood for every inch of mountain that they reached. And when they reached the summit and raised the Stars and Stripes for all to see, it was so special to everybody there. Everybody there and everybody watching. They couldn't believe it. It wasn't supposed to happen. With us today is one of the last survivors of that battle, 101-year-old Marine Corporal Don Graves.

And he's here to salute that famous flag he saw rise in the glory of Iwo Jima 81 years ago and you've all seen that flag many times.

The War on Communism 

Tonight, we proudly thank veterans of the war on communism, including Marine Corporal Pat Finn and Private First Class Rudy Meekins, who fought at the famed Battle of Chosen Reservoir in Korea. That was a rough one. Thank you. Pat fought in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

He had five against him and he was one. And as you can see, he's around to talk about it. And Rudy was wounded four times but never stopped shooting and he never stopped moving forward. And also with us is veteran Sonny Ray, who fought heroically against an enemy force 10 times his unit's size and earned a tremendously deserved Silver Star. 

Tonight, they salute one of the very first 50-star flags to fly above the field of battle. This was about the beginning of the 50. And right next to it is one of the last flags from Checkpoint Charlie, very famous place on the Berlin Wall, where American freedom finally brought communism crashing down to an end. Thank you so much. You are really very special.

Thank you. Thank you very much. The Stars and Stripes cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion before and we will do it again if necessary. I don't think it's going to be necessary. I think people have learned. They've learned what to do and how to handle it and we are going to handle it very well. So, gentlemen, I want to thank you very much. Amazing people. Amazing men. Thank you. How about that, huh? Isn't that great? What an honor it is to be with them. Think of it, 107. That's up there, but hopefully, he's got 20 good years left. Through the generations, Americans have never stopped striving to lift humanity to new heights.

Flight and Space 

In 1903, the Wright Brothers from Ohio fulfilled the age-old dream of mankind to fly. That's right. They're from Ohio. Great state. And within 66 years of inventing the airplane, Americans planted our flag on the moon. Just three months ago, we sent American astronauts back to the far side of the moon, and this time, they flew further from Earth than anyone has ever flown before. And here they are. So, tonight we're joined by that crew of NASA, Artemis. You know the crew, everybody. Artemis II and everybody watched. Isn't that amazing? They became very famous. Everybody watched. I was watching, I don't know what it was, that one got the attention of everybody.

And along with the last man to walk on the moon, Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmidt. Thank you, Jack. You look like you could be with them, Jack. You look very good. You look very good, Jack. Thank you very much. What a job. Everybody was watching. I was with a group of people that normally wouldn't be watching and we're having a big dinner and they all said, "We want to turn on. We want to watch Artemis II." A lot of people said, "What is that?" By the end of the evening they knew it was amazing. And along with Jared, where is Jared? He's so great. He's running NASA. What a job he's done. So, I want to thank you all. Thank you very much. Great job.

So, these champions of flight stand this evening beside the flag flown on the Wright Brothers' airplane piloted by Orville Wright. It's the exact flag. Very historic. And they are honored to be here. They told me today they were really amazed to be here with that flag. That's a very special flag if you're in the world of flying aircraft. So, congratulations to everybody. Fantastic job. Very proud of you. And I have a special gift for these patriots this morning on America's 250th birthday. A new flag was flown above the United States Capitol. And tonight I presented to you to soon be planted by American astronauts on their upcoming return to the moon.

And in addition to that, I gave them and all of the great heroes that you saw up on stage tonight and a few others that couldn't quite make the stage. I gave them a very special medal from the White House. So, it's an honor.

Families of the Fallen 

We are honored to be joined by 11 Gold Star family members, the Gold Star Family. That is one of the great tributes. It's one of the great honors.

A tough honor. There's nothing tougher than that, but these are amazing people. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Come on up. They went through a lot. Thank you very much. And that special person is looking up there and looking down at mom and dad, husband, wife, but they're looking down with great pride. You know that. You know that. And we want to thank you for being here. Thank you very much. And we have medals for you backstage. I brought them. I thought I'd be handing them out about two hours ago, three hours ago, but we're going to be backstage and we have beautiful medals for you, for your family from the White House. Thank you very much everybody. We love you.

The Star-Spangled Banner 

In 1944, a mother and her daughter huddled in their house in Nazi-occupied Belgium and prayed desperately for their country to be freed. They wanted freed. As they waited, they found scraps of fabric and stitched together a homemade American flag. It's beautiful, but homemade. On the day they were finally liberated, and that's what the word is, liberated. They gave it to an American soldier as a gift. 

Little did they know that that soldier's great-grandfather was none other than the author of our Star-Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key. And tonight, the next generation of the Key family is with us. Thank you very much, please. Thank you. Major Kyle Key has spent 23 years in the US Army, highly respected. And this evening he proudly salutes the old flag that was made by the Belgian woman so beautifully and who knew that America means hope and freedom.

What do you think of his team's approach to his America at 250 speech, to have the historic flags on display and to attach them to specific people or teams of people?  I think it's one of the better things they've put together, in part because it kept his rambling and the famous 'weave' to a minimuim on a night when it was importatn to do that. 

Oh sure, it's possible that the bobbing and weaving was limited by the lateness of the hour, the size of the crowd after the weather delay, and the fact that almost everyone there was more interested in the fireworks than the speech, but that he and his handlers rose to the occasion is a good thing.