Comrades, the flag for which we
fought is today recognized every
where as the symbol of freedom and
privilege. A gentleman now travel
ing abroad recently wrote home:
I have seen lots of American
flags in my time, but I believe the
farther one gets from home the more
beautiful the- flg of his country
seems. I suppose every man sees a
great deal of meaning in the flag
of his own country but I am proud
to be the citizen of a country whose
flag has acquired a definite and be
nign significance throughout the
earth. A Greek gentleman from
Smyrna, whose acquaintance we have
made on hoard this ship, and who
has been traveling in many lands,
tells me that the 'American flag
smells liberty everywhere in the
world.' This is a rather unusual fig
ure of speech for describing the sig
nificance of the stars and stripes, but
I hope that when my Greek friend
has acquired a better command of
English and becomes more elegantly
rhetorical, he may still see the same
meaning in our flag."
My friends, when you travel
abroad, and are inquired of as to
where you are from, you don't an
swer "I'm from Heron Lake, or Aus
tin,
But my comrades this service
would not ^be satisfactory Were no
mention made of the noble sacrifice
of the wives who parted with their
husbands, the mothers who freely
gave their sons, and the sisters who(
tried to look cheerful while their
brothers marched away to the war.
