Jim Bradshaw: One simple rule to remember for Flag Day

As the nation honors the Stars and Stripes by observing Flag Day each June 14 it is following the fondest wish of a soldier from south Louisiana who had a special place in his heart for Old Glory.
Col. James A. Moss was one of the best-known military men in the nation when he came home to his native Lafayette in late 1923 to begin a campaign to make sure that the U.S. flag would always fly high and proud.
The son of Judge Anderson J. and Octavie Moss was nearing the end of a distinguished career.
e won the Silver Star for gallantry in the Cuban campaign during the Spanish-American War and commanded a regiment in France during World War I.
He may have been best known within the military as the author of the Manual of Military Training, the military bible that was used to train U.S. officers during World War I and for many years after, as well as for a number of other military textbooks.
He was also credited with originating a standardized system of army correspondence and with designing a simplified payroll system.
But the thing that made him known outside the ranks was his love for the flag.
On Dec. 19, 1923, he made Lafayette the first stop in what he said would be a “nationwide campaign of education in rendering proper reverence to the colors and to bring about a more general knowledge of the National Anthem.”
He began the campaign at an assembly at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now UL) and spoke later in the day to the general public at the Jefferson Theater downtown.
“The flag has a peculiar significance for those who have followed it upon the battlefield,” he said.
“It is more than the colors – it portrays the history of America and it should at all times be paid the proper reverence and respect due from everyone in this great country.
“The 13 stripes of the flag stand for more than just the fact that they represent the 13 original colonies. They recall the wars and the privations and the battles through which Americans have gone to establish and preserve the nation. The 13 stripes will never change – they will continue as an emblem commemorating the greatness of our country and the steps which have brought about its greatness.
“The stars in the flag represent the states, but that is only the beginning,” he said. The stars, he said, “each tell of a state won from the wilderness – a story of suffering and struggle that these states might come into being.
“The red in the flag portrays courage – the courage of men who have gone into battle, the courage of men and women, pioneers who made their way across the country laying the foundation for later development of the nation.”
   He said the white in the flag stands for liberty and the blue for loyalty, and that the whole flag “typifies a land of freedom, a land of the square deal, a good land to live in. It has a special message for each of us, and an appeal to pay this flag the proper reverence and respect.”
He offered a simple rule to follow giving the flag the respect it is due.
“There are many people who wish to pay this flag the proper reverence and respect, but who are not fully informed as to the proper methods,” he said. “Just remember this: Treat the flag as you would your mother’s picture.”
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, "Cajuns and Other Characters," is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.