I apologize for displaying the old Georgia Flag in 1968. | Eastern NC Now

    It does not make any difference what you meant, it is all about who does the translation.

    I was lucky to get out of the field at the end of my tour in Vietnam. Living safely in the "rear with the gear", I found out that you could order a Georgia Flag from the Georgia Secretary of State and they would send you a free flag and an 8x10 picture of Miss Georgia for that year (1968).

    I ordered the flag and hung it on the wall of the orderly room. My reason was merely to proudly display a memento of my home state. I had no racial intent at all and it was not a statement about the Civil War to me. I may have been naïve but my black hooch roommate, Bronte, saw no offense in hanging the flag. He was from Texas.

    I won't offer a resume or an explanation on race relations. I was raised in the South but I thought I had long since given up any prejudice I may have had had toward blacks. After all, Bronte crawled out to bring me more ammo in the middle of a rice paddy under fire. One of the facts of Combat is that we all bleed red.

    I offer two viewpoints for my faux pas. I warn you ahead of time, there is some off color language. Meanwhile back at the ranch, has anyone noticed that we had three terriost attacks in the last forty-eight hours?

    Short Apology

    Longer Apology

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