Little Boy Captured on Family's Doorbell Camera Reciting Pledge of Allegiance
You never know what your kids are going to pick up when they’re with friends, at school or any time they’re away from you. Sometimes it’s germs, sometimes it’s colorful sayings — but sometimes, it’s just a lesson that leads to a heartwarming action.
For parents Mike and Jessica Satterthwaite, it was their 5-year-old son Preston’s unexpected Pledge of Allegiance that brought pride to their hearts. They’d been teaching him about respect for the flag, but didn’t know he’d been learning the Pledge of Allegiance at school, too.
The family decided to put up a flag for the Fourth of July, and they took the opportunity to school Preston on proper flag etiquette.
“As we were installing [the American Flag], I was explaining the importance of why we respect the flag and how we could never let it hit the ground,” Mike Satterthwaite recalled, according to Fox News.
Some time later, they noticed the flag was down on the ground, prompting them to believe someone had come along and deliberately disrespected the flag.
“Preston was pretty upset that the flag was touching the ground,” Mike said.
They righted the wrong, but also installed a doorbell camera in case the vandal decided to strike again. And the camera did catch someone’s interaction with the flag — but it wasn’t the vandal’s.
After Preston and Mike got back from a bike ride, Preston scampered away from the garage and ran to the front porch, placing his hand over his heart and briskly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The doorbell camera caught the whole thing.
“I was taking his bike in the garage and I thought he was following behind me,” Mike told GMA. “And as I was putting (the bike) away, I turn around and noticed he was gone.”
“I started screaming for him and he came running back,” Mike told WRC-TV. “That’s why you hear him say, ‘I’m coming, I’m coming.'”
“I was floored,” Mike said of the resulting video clip. “The thoughtfulness of him to go and do that on his own is pretty cool.”
“It was kind of ironic that the moment someone pulled it down, led to us capturing this great moment,” he added.
Mom was pretty impressed with her son, too. “It was the typical mom pride moment that I’ll never forget,” she said.
“Here’s Preston on Good Morning America this morning!!” Mike posted on Facebook with a clip of their interview on Sept. 15. “We are so proud of him!!”
“We’ve taught him the significance of America and why people want to move here and our freedoms and he wanted to learn about that,” Mike said. “It’s a pretty neat little moment.”
And Preston proved he’d taken the lesson to heart, telling GMA that “The United States is the best country ever.”
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