Reveille

Thursday 11/9/06
0700

One of the things I like about living on a military post is the overt respect for the American flag and the traditions surrounding it. In particular, the raising and lowering of the flag outside post headquarters is a daily ritual, accompanied by the appropriate bugle calls played over the public address system, which is audible all over the post.

Reveille (pronounced rev'-il-lee) is the first bugle call of the day (the words I learned to it at Boy Scout camp were "You've got to get up, you've got to get up, you've got to get up this morning!"). It's played at 0600, so most people are actually already up. The color guard assembles outside post headquarters, and when Reveille is played they snap to attention and raise the flag quickly to the top of the flagpole.

At the end of the official duty day (1700), the bugle plays Retreat as a sort of warning, and then To The Color. When To The Color is played, the color guard slowly lower the flag, fold it, and put it away until the next day.

http://bands.army.mil/music/bugle/

What makes these times of day special on a military installation is that when they hear the bugle call, everyone who is outside stops what they are doing (including driving cars), faces the flagpole, stands at attention, and salutes, holding the salute until a few moments after the music has stopped.

I've been outside several times at Reveille or Retreat since being mobilized, and so have been reintroduced to this tradition. But this morning I happened to be right next to post headquarters on the way back from the gym when Reveille was played. So instead of just facing the music, I was right there in view of the flagpole, standing at attention and saluting as I watched the flag being raised. That does something to me inside - always has and always will. It makes me think of what the flag stands for, and reminds me of why I'm proud to be an American. I suppose it might sound sappy to some people (although probably not to anyone who's bothering to take the time to read my writings here). In any case, I'm old fashioned in that way.

Because it's a shared ritual, it also makes me feel more a part of a community - cars stop and people get out and stand at attention, everyone's arm comes up in a salute, and you stand there for a few moments just being Americans and paying your respects to our flag. When it's over, the arms come down smartly and everyone goes about their business. In my case, there's a little more spring in my step afterwards. :-)

This morning I happened to notice that a couple of the nearby cars had Kuwaiti or TCN drivers and occupants. They stopped, but did not get out of their vehicles. That got me thinking about how our respect for our flag must appear to people from other countries. I don't know how they feel about their national symbols - I know that when I was in Germany you never, ever saw a German flag flying outside a private home or business. That was one of the most striking contrasts that I noticed when I returned home to the USA and drove through the countryside - almost every farm, home, and business had an American flag flying outside. The lack of flags may have just been because of Germany's unique history. I know that citizens of other countries certainly feel patriotic sentiment, and they may perhaps feel about their flags in a way similar to how we feel about ours.

But I sense that we Americans are different in that way. Our flag stands for more than just nationalism or jingoistic pride in a place. It stands for an idea (really a whole body of ideas), and at least for me, that is the source of the deep pride and respect - reverence, really - that it inspires in me. As I stood there saluting the flag this morning, in view of those people from other countries, I felt proud not only to be an American, but to be an American here in this place, and to be able to demonstrate the respect we pay to our national symbol and all that it stands for.

Mood: Proud
Music: Silence