A Tribute To Dad, Old Glory And God

By Mark Henry

On this Memorial Day, we are called to honor and remember those who have served our country. We must never forget that the freedom we take for granted is not free and comes with a heavy price. It is also a time to remember that we are one nation under God and we honor those in the military who sacrificed to keep it that way.

While all Americans need to be thankful for the service of our military veterans, there are those among us who owe a particular debt of gratitude to family members who served in the armed forces.

This Memorial Day is particularly significant for my family since my father, a veteran of WWII and the Korean War, was interred this week at Punchbowl National Cemetery in Hawaii. My father was one of a whole generation of young men who were pressed into military service when WWII broke out. Since Dad was not keen to fight in the trenches, he opted to enroll in flight training school to become a Marine aviator. Barely meeting the pilot minimum age requirement of 18, he went on to flight training school and was rushed into air combat in the Pacific.

By military standards, Dad had a successful tour of duty as he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross among other wartime citations and awards. However, Dad never liked to talk much about his experiences in the war. In fact, the Catholic chaplain at my father’s memorial service this week nailed it when he said that if my father were here he would say he did nothing special, nothing but his duty.

My father’s memorial service last week was with "military honors" and was a deeply moving experience. Since I never served in the military, I had no idea what I was in for. Seeing an honor guard of seven Marine soldiers firing their rifles into the air three times was awe-inspiring. The ceremonial playing of taps by a lone bugler, followed by eight additional Marine honor guards presenting the American flag to me as the next of kin was an unforgettable experience.

Many Americans do not realize or appreciate the deep Christian symbolism which is reflected in the flag presentation ceremony at a military funeral. The honoring of God in the presentation of the American flag was personally comforting and surprising in this age where our federal government seems so determined to remove any semblance of Christian faith from the public square.

Each individual fold of the flag has symbolic significance, with a number of folds honoring God and traditional Christian values. At my father’s service, the flag was folded thirteen times by eight Marine honor guards, standing in two rows of four honor guards each.

The first fold of the flag is a symbol of life. The second fold of the flag is a symbol of a belief in eternal life. The fourth fold of the flag represents man’s fallibility, man’s need to trust in God and the importance of turning to God for His divine guidance in times of war and peace.

The twelfth fold of the flag symbolizes eternity and glorifies God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The thirteenth and last fold of the flag reveals the stars on the flag and symbolizes the United States' national motto, “In God We Trust.”

My father’s military memorial service, especially the flag presentation ceremony, was an experience that will live with me all my days. However, what made Dad’s memorial service not just moving but spiritually significant was realizing how different events in my father’s life, like the ceremonial folding of the American flag, manifested God’s providence and led my father inexorably closer to God.

Earlier in his life, my father never seemed to have too much of an interest in his faith. While he occasionally joined the family for services on holidays and other occasions, it seemed more in his character, as the battle hardened Marine combat pilot, to be the breadwinner, disciplinarian and sports coach rather than spiritual leader of the family. While the Lord may have called Dad, he was not yet willing to listen and the Lord's call fell, for the moment, on deaf ears.

However, during his final years my father’s worsening physical condition provided him a timely opportunity to reflect on his life, his accomplishments, his regrets and also his gradually awakening desire to come closer to Christ.

During this stage of Dad’s life, his numerous hospitalizations required that we, his family, “stand guard” at his bedside and literally defend his life. I believed it was the least we could do in return for all Dad did for us and his country. The need for this was clear as each time Dad was hospitalized the hospital staff tried to convince us that Dad was dying and it was futile and pointless to insist that he received life-sustaining care like food and water intravenously. According to the hospital staff, the better thing to do was to medicate him, not provide him nutrition and hydration and let him die.

Essentially, the hospital staff wanted us to agree that Dad could be euthanized. Fortunately, we resisted the unrelenting pressure of the hospital staff to terminally sedate Dad and each time Dad walked out of the hospital on his own.

While I did not realize it at the time, I eventually came to appreciate the eternal spiritual significance of the battle that we were waging for Dad. He needed just a little more time for God’s loving arms to embrace him. Had the hospital had its way and been able to euthanize Dad, he may not have come back to Christ and his soul could have been lost forever.

After Dad was discharged from the hospital for the last time, he sat down with me and the final and most joyous chapter of his life unfolded. I remember it well, after having lunch with my father and returning to his apartment we sat down and he asked me to tell him about my faith in Christ! Hearing his request brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. Dad had now unfolded the first and second folds in the flag, he was acknowledging the importance of life and eternity.

This conversation with my father was the first in a sequence of memorable events that ended with Dad accepting Christ as his Lord and Savior. Soon enough, Dad began attending church services with us. He also started a daily prayer life, sometimes on his own and sometimes with friends of his who also had been encouraging him to renew his Catholic faith.

The Lord’s plan for my father was finally unfolding before my very eyes. By now, my father’s failing health made it apparent that he may not have long to live. He was now at the fourth fold in the flag and had recognized his own fallibility and his need to turn to God in this most difficult of times.

All to soon, Dad was admitted to the hospital for the last time and he took his final step of spiritual reconciliation - he confessed his sins to the hospital Chaplain and received the last rites. Dad was now unfolding the final folds in the flag where he recognized the need to reconcile with God, to glorify Him and to trust in His saving grace. Within twenty-four hours, the Lord tenderly reached out and took Dad home.

My father’s memorial service at Punchbowl last week was a tribute to a man, his service to country and his Catholic faith. Like the faith inspired folding of the American flag, Dad’s life journey was a testimony to the values of life, honor and God’s providence. My father, the prodigal soldier, finished faithful which was God’s plan for him all along. Semper Fidelis, Dad.