"THE FLAG" By Baxter Black

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the flag
That flew over Valley Forge
Was torn in two by the Grey and the Blue
And bled through two world wars.

I give you the Flag that burned in the street
In protest, in anger and shame
The very same flag that covered the men
Who died defending her name.

We now stand together, Americans all,
Either by choice or by birth
To honor the flag that's flown on the moon
And changed the face of the earth

History will show the flag stood a friend
To the hungry, the homeless and lost
That a mixture of men as common as clay
Valued one thing beyond cost.

And they've signed in blood from Bunker Hill
To Saigon, Kuwait, Bosnia
Kabul, Baghdad and Toko Ri.
I give you the Flag that says to the world
Each man has a right to be free