Why The American Flag Means So Much To My Family

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Here's Monty Montgomery with the story. It's easy for us to forget the meaning of things constantly around us. If you drive through Washington, D.C. over a summer, seeing the Pentagon, Jefferson Memorial, Capitol Building and Washington Monument begins to just seem like a part of everyday life. They're just there, and the splendor adorning them simply vanishes in the midst of a busy rush hour commute to Arlington, where our national heroes are buried. Adorning their graves is another symbol of our great country that we can often forget the importance of to so many people. The American flag.

Joy Neal Kidney's family is a group of some of those people who don't forget its meaning, though. Here's Joy, author of Leora's Letters, with more on what the flag of our nation means to her and her family. The American flag was precious to my grandmother, who often wore a small, sparkly red, white and blue flag-shaped pin.

In one of my favorite pictures of her, she's standing below a flag and grinning. Back in 1890, when Leora Goff was born in Guthrie County, Iowa, the new states of Idaho and Wyoming had just been added to the union, making 44 stars in the flag. She was five years old when Utah became a state, adding the 45th star. That was the same year her father went bankrupt in Nebraska's drought. Leora was nearly 17 when Oklahoma was admitted to the union, 46 stars.

They lived in rural Audubon County then, and she rode a horse to the county seat town to take piano lessons. She helped her dad with his popcorn crop and her mother with 10 younger siblings. The 48-star flag came about when New Mexico and Arizona became states, right before the Titanic sank in 1912. Leora was 21 then, living in Wichita, Iowa, not yet married. It was that familiar 48-star flag for the next 33 years, through Leora's marriage to Clay Wilson, the Great War, the births of their 10 children, the loss of three as infants, and through World War II, when they lost three sons.

Leora regularly displayed the flag outside her little house in Guthrie Center, where she lived out her last decades. Her family had sacrificed so much for that emblem of the nation. When Japan officially surrendered at the end of World War II, two sons were missing in action, Dale in New Guinea and Danny in Europe. Their youngest son was killed in training at the end of the war. A folded American flag was presented to Clayman Leora by Junior's Army Air Force friend and fellow pilot, Ralph Woods, at the funeral. The war was over. The Wilsons' two surviving sons had served in the Navy. Delbert and his family moved home to be with his folks.

Dale Wilson has never been found. They eventually learned that son Danny's grave had been located in Austria and that he had been killed in action the day he was listed as missing. Months later, a carton of Danny Wilson's possessions from his base in Italy arrived at the Wilson acreage south of Perry, sent from the Army Effects Bureau of the Kansas City Quartermaster Depot.

Clay signed for the carton. I suppose they opened it. But did they sort through their son's 18 pairs of socks, five cotton undershirts, three khaki trousers, and other clothing? If they had, they would have found Danny's wristwatch, souvenirs of his R&R to Rome over Christmas 1944, a fountain pen, and other items, including a small New Testament. The war was over, but life just plotted on and on with daily chores to keep them busy.

According to Leora's diary, she churned butter every week. Two cows had calves. Clay helped a neighbor with fieldwork. At some point, maybe they thumbed through Danny's small New Testament. They would have found the page with the American flag on it. Under that flag is an arrow drawn in ink and these words in his usual bold handwriting with his signature. I give everything for the country it stands for. If this brings tears to my eyes these many decades later, how did my grandparents deal with it? It's no wonder the American flag was so precious to my grandmother. And a special thanks to Joy Neal Kidney for sharing her story, her mother's story, her grandmother's story, the family's story, and in the end the American story, because that's what the American flag represents, all of our stories. My own family had the same story. I have the flag now that my mom got from her mom. My mother's only brother was killed in World War II. And John LaPadula was a paratrooper, landed behind the enemy lines, and was never heard from again.

No effects, just a flag. And a special thanks also to WHO for carrying our show and for allowing these stories to happen again. If you have a story about anything, send them our way.

We love hearing from listeners. Joy Neal Kidney's story, her family's story, the American flag's story, here on Our American Story. Folks, if you love the great American stories we tell and love America like we do, we're asking you to become a part of the Our American Stories family. If you agree that America is a good and great country, please make a donation. A monthly gift of $17.76 is fast becoming a favorite option for supporters. Go to OurAmericanStories.com now and go to the donate button and help us keep the great American stories coming.

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