I keep a file of information

and articles I feel we all need to know as Christians and Americans. I

come from the (before Sept. 11) dying group of an un-ashamedly patriotic

family. In fact, in our family if you wanted to get into a very quick,

bottom-line, red-faced argument, all you had to do is run down the USA.

I guess it came from two generations

of the Herndon men and their families serving our country through several

wars.

Don't get me wrong our country

has made mistakes and will in the future, but having traveled to over

36 countries, there is no comparison anywhere-not even close.

The following speech was made

the U. S. Senate. I feel says it all. I quote it here.

"As you may know, I spent

five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In

the early years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese (NVA) kept us

in solitary confinement of two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved

us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as

30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change

and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf

of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

"One of the men who moved

into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small

town near Selma, Alabama. He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was

13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He later earned a commission

and was shot down and captured in 1967.

"Mike had a keen and deep

appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide

for people who want to work and wan to succeed. As part of the change

in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages

from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other

items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of

a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside

of his shirt.

"Every afternoon, before

we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell

and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may

not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you

that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful

event.

"One day the Vietnamese

searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt

with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned,

opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all us, beat Mike

Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the

door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.

"The cell in which we

lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked

light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. As I said, we tried to clean

up Mike as well as we could.

"After the excitement

died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath

that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo

needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes

almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American

flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better.

He was making that flag because he knew how important it was.

"So the next time you

say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and

courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and

promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor,

and our country.

"I pledge allegiance to

the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which

it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice

for all."

"PASS THIS ON... and on...

and on!!!!!!"

PS. To Jane Fonda: I don't

suppose you read many of my articles, but you should especially this one.

God Bless America!

Dr. Knox Herndon is the pastor

of His House Community Church (SBC). Rev. Greg Mausz is the senior associate

pastor. Dr. Lydia Herndon is the Sunday School superintendent, Bible study

coordinator and teacher. The church is just south of Senoia on Ga. Highway

85, a mile past Ga. Highway 16 and just below the fire station. Visitors

are welcome. Church office and prayer line number is 770-719-2365.E-mail

address is [email protected] .

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