June 14 is an important day for me every year.
First, it is the anniversary of a tragic loss of an American hero, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Klinger, in Al Fallujah, Iraq, in 2005. Every year on this day, I reflect on Joshua’s sacrifice for this country and on a promise I made to his mother and father to take care of him on that deployment. I will be eternally sorrowful for my inability to keep that promise, but I remain eternally grateful when I remember the promise of eternal life granted to believers like Joshua.
Second, it is Flag Day, established by President Woodrow Wilson on the 100th anniversary of the June 14, 1777, Second Continental Congress resolution that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white,” and that “the union is 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
It was important that the new Republic standardize the battle colors under which its defenders fought against British tyranny. Of course, that original flag changed over time to what we display today, which represents our republic and — most importantly — our Constitution and the freedom it guarantees.
Because our flag symbolizes that freedom, it has always been an object of my affection and respect. It was present when I swore into the United States Marine Corps on my 18th birthday, taking an oath to defend our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It was present during my commissioning that took place the spring after 9/11.
My reverence for the flag inspired me to keep it present with me during my entire career in the Corps. I dedicated a small 3’x5’ American flag as my “combat flag” to accompany me on my various tours of duty overseas. I carried it folded in my rucksack and told myself I’d only ever unfold it in combat zones and never on American soil so that it maintained that particular spiritual and psychological importance.
That flag was unfolded on the tops of mountains in Afghanistan, over the rubble remains of Saddam Hussein’s palaces, and over the city of Al Fallujah on September 11, 2005, in Iraq. These important occasions were not in an effort to symbolize “colonization” of another nation but rather to express our desire to fight tyrants overseas and help others establish the same kind of freedom we enjoy here — where government comes from the consent of the governed.
On September 11 and 12, 2012, in the wake of the deadly attack on our U.S. consulate in Benghazi, I was deployed to Africa, south of Libya, and I thought for sure this flag would be unfolded again. We never got the call to support, and thus it stayed folded in my rucksack. Warriors willing to serve and answer the call were told to “stand down,” and Americans were told lies about the nature of that deadly terrorist attack and those who perpetrated it.
Thrust suddenly back into civilian life, I spent my time researching and analyzing what enemies of our Constitution believe and how they operate worldwide. It became immediately apparent that these enemies have done immense damage to the U.S. national security community through infiltration and influence. As I researched the terrible vulnerabilities of our critical infrastructures upon which we depend for life, it also became apparent that these enemies can end our civilization without engaging our military on overseas battlefields.
What I realized is that the fight is not “over there” but actually “over here.” With that realization, I began to unfold my combat flag on American soil — but only when I was with a group of patriots working to defend this Republic.
Last spring, we unfolded it in the office of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. Gathered there were people whose careers had ended over the COVID vaccine mandate, including courageous doctors. Landry was fighting for the rights of children and parents in the state with respect to a childhood COVID vaccine mandate being promoted by the governor, state health department, and pharmaceutical industry. Having my own military career in the Marines cut short over the same unethical mandate; it was inspiring to see an AG fight for his citizens and their rights. A state attorney general was willing to do what no single general officer was willing to do in the Department of Defense for his or her own subordinates.
Today I took the opportunity to have a meaningful talk with my children about our nation and our flag. We discussed the importance of respecting the flag, even if others do not. We practiced folding it and discussing the meaning of the colors, stars, and stripes and the freedom it symbolizes. We also discussed the importance that we never give up our commitment to that freedom or honor the sacrifices of those who fought for it.
We even listened to “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood, singing that “the flag still stands for freedom….”
Many bad actors – both foreign and domestic – wish to crush that freedom today and bring tyranny to America.
In the face of these threats, we must “proudly stand up, next to you, and defend her still today.”
Tommy Waller is the President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy. A Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, Waller served more than two decades on active duty and in the reserves with deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and the Caribbean. He holds a BA in International Relations from Tulane University.