Share
Commentary

This Is Why We Stand: Homecoming for Officer Killed in Afghanistan Should Silence Anthem Protesters

Share

Why do we stand for the national anthem and the American flag? Sgt. 1st Class Will D. Lindsay is one of the reasons.

Lindsay, a member of the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, was one of two soldiers killed in combat last month.

The 33-year-old sergeant was cut down by gunfire in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province, along with Spc. Joseph P. Collette, Stars and Stripes reported.

He leaves behind an impressive legacy — as well as a wife and four daughters.

“Lindsay enlisted in the Army in July 2004 and completed One Station Unit Training and Basic Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga., before completing the Special Forces Qualification Course and getting assigned to 10th Group in July 2006, Lt. Col. Loren Bymer, a U.S. Army Special Operations Command spokesman, said in a statement,” Stars and Stripes reported. “He deployed five times to Iraq, to Tajikistan in 2016 and to Afghanistan.

Trending:
KJP Panics, Hangs Up in Middle of Interview When Reporter Shows He Isn't a Democratic Party Propagandist

“Lindsay’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Good Conduct Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, Chilean Airborne Wings and the Senior Instructor Badge.”

To the people in and around the Colorado town he called home, he was simply a hero — and when his body arrived there, he received the welcome he deserved.

“It was a rare moment of silence on a busy city workday,” Tom Roeder reported in The Colorado Springs Gazette. “The roar of jet engines halted at the airport. The distant rumble of artillery fire at Fort Carson paused. A spring rain held off and Pikes Peak emerged from the gloom. Sgt. 1st Class Will Lindsay was home.”

At Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Lindsay’s arrival was met with “stoic silence as generals, an admiral and more than 50 of his comrades from Fort Carson’s 10th Special Forces Group stood at attention while his coffin was moved from a charter plane to a hearse at Peterson Air Force Base,” Roeder wrote.

Do you think that kneeling for the national anthem is acceptable?

His funeral procession made its way through the streets of Colorado Springs. The streets weren’t lined with people, but there were those who turned out. One of them was Joan Silverstein, who told KCNC-TV in Denver she didn’t even know Will Lindsay.

As the hearse that carried his body passed by — escorted by the men and women of the Colorado Springs Police Department — she stood vigilant at the side of the road holding an American flag.



She stood with Old Glory as Lindsay passed by. Onlookers and first responders saluted the fallen hero.

“It’s very humbling, and my heart is so full of pride right now,” Silverstein said.

Related:
NFL Pundit and Former Player Roasted for Suggesting Fans Wear Pink Nail Polish to Support Projected No. 1 Pick

That’s not a pride everyone feels. While anthem protests have subsided a bit in professional sports — particularly the NFL — we still do see them.

The NFL, it’s worth noting, has shown an almost total aversion to cracking down on anthem protesters, which means they have the leeway to stand or kneel or sit for the anthem and the flag as they see fit. They can do so for whatever reason, even if those reasons have often been inchoate.

However, what they should understand is what that flag stands for. When anthem protesters see the flag, they see injustice. We see Sgt. 1st Class Will D. Lindsay.

Lindsay is a man who sacrificed everything for our country — a country that may not be perfect but affords every one of our citizens the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. He died protecting that freedom at the hands of the Taliban — the extremist group that let Osama bin Laden stay as an honored guest when Afghanistan was its terrorized fiefdom.

That’s why so many people in Colorado Springs were willing to stand by the side of the road, many with the flag. They were there to honor a man who made the ultimate sacrifice. We, too, should realize that every time we see the flag, every time we salute it, every time we stand for the national anthem, we’re honoring every man and woman who gave their life for their country, everyone who continues to put their life on the line for it.

That’s who we are as Americans. That’s what we should always remember.

Homecomings like this are somber events, but they’re also a reminder of who our real heroes are.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , ,
Share
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014.
C. Douglas Golden is a writer who splits his time between the United States and Southeast Asia. Specializing in political commentary and world affairs, he's written for Conservative Tribune and The Western Journal since 2014. Aside from politics, he enjoys spending time with his wife, literature (especially British comic novels and modern Japanese lit), indie rock, coffee, Formula One and football (of both American and world varieties).
Birthplace
Morristown, New Jersey
Education
Catholic University of America
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Topics of Expertise
American Politics, World Politics, Culture




Conversation