USTDC

Photo of USTDC courtesy of Les Duffin

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Saluting in Civvies

This is a bit off-topic but since most of us here are veterans, I thought it might be of some interest.

According to a US Department of Veterans Affairs press release, all military veterans and military personnel wearing civilian attire are now permitted to salute the US flag when it passes by during parades and also during the playing of the National Anthem at any venue, such as a sporting event.

It's a relatively small thing, but it makes so much sense that you wonder why nobody thought of it before. Even after all these years, I still have to make a conscious effort not to salute during the playing of the National Anthem.

The measure was sponsored by Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, an Army veteran. It was included in the Defense Authorization Act of 2009, which President Bush signed on October 14.

2 comments:

Sarj Bloom said...

This is very interesting. I have season tickets to the Jacksonville Jaguars and have had them for 9years now. At the game I always remove my hat and place my hand over my heart and I also sing along as do others. The next home game I still plan to remove my hat (not military head gear) and I will salute. I am proud to show that I am a veteran and I hope the word is passed on so other veterans will do the same.
It's not often in our society that we get a chance to display our patriotic pride.

Anonymous said...

Good news to hear. I always come to attention and place my right hand over my heart. I teach my son to do the same thing and he enjoys it.

I hope the next President elected will have this same respect for the US flag. We know one of the candidates will.

from Tainan, Taiwan.