`Crown thy good with brotherhood'
My mother always made sure that an American flag flew in her front yard.
Four of her brothers and her husband, my Dad, served in World War II. The stories of war, the patriotic music, the sacrifices made, were real to our family.
Growing up, I had a dream of entertaining our military troops as a way to serve. God granted that desire when the Miss America organization and United Service Organizations (USO) sponsored a trip, along with a group of state title holders, to Vietnam in August 1967. We were the first Miss America group to perform in a combat zone. We spent two weeks entertaining, visiting hospitals and shaking hands with the brave men and women serving there.
It changed us forever. Our chartered flight back home was full of soldiers. We became silent as we got closer to America. We knew these men would not get off the plane to a hero's welcome. Our performing group wasn't political, we just knew what we had seen in Vietnam. These soldiers were mostly our age, living in a horrible environment, risking their lives, robbed of their youth, never to be the same.
I got to see my cousin Mike Smith at Xuan Loc. He grew up in Turpin, Oklahoma, a star football player and smart student who went to the University of Oklahoma before being drafted. We also met boys from my hometown of Laverne and nearby Woodward and Alva. Miss Tennessee saw a friend from her hometown. He was in the hospital in Saigon, with both legs gone.
As our airplane flew closer to home, Angie, a former Miss Alabama, took out her guitar. We started singing — every patriotic song we knew. As the West Coast of America came into view, we sang: “This Land is Your Land, this land is my land, from California to the New York island.”
Tears were rolling down our faces. Never had America
looked so good, so clean. With faults, with protests, with poverty, it was still a bountiful nation that granted its citizens freedom and opportunity. We'd seen a country with deep and overwhelming poverty. We'd witnessed innocent
families trying to live with the brutality of war. On the crowded streets of Saigon, we met eyes with little hope, women with blackened teeth, children with no clothes.
I never had a serious conversation with my cousin about Vietnam.
It's too late now; Mike passed away last year.
The family knew that Vietnam was horrific for Mike. Adjusting to life afterward was its own
kind of battle.
In time, God helped him find peace and blessed Mike with a wonderful family that was his greatest joy and finest legacy.
To my surprise, Mike chose to be buried at the Fort Sill National Cemetery near Lawton. After all that war took from him, it was his final act of pride to be laid to rest in the shadow of the American flag.
May we always be grateful for those who answer when their nation calls, always be aware of what needs to be done to make our country better, and always pray to God for the humility to seek His guidance and live His love.
America, America, God shed His grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
Happy birthday!