Like me, Mike Christian was shot down and captured in Vietnam. As his cellmate, I watched as Mike began to collect little scraps of red, white and blue cloth, and with a needle fashioned from a splinter of bamboo, he sewed an American flag on the inside of his blue prison shirt. Every afternoon, my fellow POWS and I would recite the Pledge of Allegiance to Mike's flag. No other event of the day held as much meaning for us.
The prison guards soon discovered Mike's flag - an offense for which he was beaten severely. Mike was returned to our cell and we helped him to the bare mattress in the room. After a few moments, with Mike still bloodied, broken and eyes nearly swollen shut, we watched in awe as he gathered his scraps of cloth and started sewing another American flag.
We must never forget those Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, have protected our right to vote.
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