I was

deeply moved by the patriotism of this young Marine and I

would like to share it with you on the first Independence

Day in the new millennium.

The following commentary

was submitted anonymously and recently appeared in The

Scout, the command newspaper serving Camp Pendleton,

Calif.

"A foreign diplomat

who often criticized American policy once observed a

United States Marine perform the evening colors ceremony.

The diplomat wrote about this simple but solemn ceremony

in a letter to his country: `During one of the past few

days, I had occasion to visit the U.S. Embassy in our

capital after official working hours. I arrived at a

quarter to six and was met by the Marine on guard at the

entrance of the Chancery. He asked if I would mind

waiting while he lowered the two American flags at the

embassy. What I witnessed over the next 10 minutes so

impressed me that I am now led to make this occurrence

part of my ongoing record of this distressing era.

"'The Marine was

dressed in a uniform which was spotless and neat; he

walked with a measured tread from the entrance of the

Chancery to the stainless steel flagpole before the

embassy and, almost reverently, lowered the flag to the

level of his reach where he began to fold it in military

fashion. He then released the flag from the clasps

attaching it to the rope, stepped back from the pole,

made an about face, and carried the flag between his

hands - one above, one below - and placed it

securely on a stand before the Chancery.

"'He then marched over

to the second flagpole and repeated the same lonesome

ceremony. On the way between poles, he mentioned to me

very briefly that he would soon be finished. After

completing his task, he apologized for the delay out of

pure courtesy, as nothing less than incapacity would have

prevented him from fulfilling his goal, and said to me,

"Thank you for waiting, sir. I had to pay honor to

my country."'

"I have had to tell

this story because there was something impressive about a

lone Marine carrying out a ceremonial task which

obviously meant very much to him and which, in its

simplicity, made the might, the power, and the glory of

the United States of America stand forth in a way that a

mighty wave of military aircraft, or the passage of a

super-carrier, or a parade of 10,000 men could never have

made manifest.

"In spite of all the

many things that I can say negatively about the United

States, I do not think there is a soldier, yea, even a

private citizen, who could feel as proud about our

country today as the Marine does for his country. One day

it is my hope to visit one of our embassies in a faraway

place and to see a soldier fold our flag and turn to a

stranger and say, `I am sorry for the delay, sir. I had

to honor my country.'"

God Bless America.

The Rev. Dr. Knox Herndon

is the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC) and a

substitute school teacher in the Fayette County school

system, and a former Army chaplain. The church is

currently meeting in the American Legion Log Cabin across

from the fountain on the Square in Fayetteville, (but not

for long.) The church will be moving to a new location

near Senoia in August. Prayer line 770-719-2365; e-mail [email protected] .