Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the flag
That flew over valley forge
Was torn in two by the gray and blue
And bled through two world wars.

I give you the flag that burned in the street
In protest, in anger and shame,
The very same flag that covered the men
Who died defending her name.

We now stand together, Americans all,
Either by choice or by birth
To honor the flag that’s flown on the moon
And changed the face of the earth.

History will show this flag stood a friend
To the hungry, the homeless and lost
That a mixture of men as common as clay
Valued one thing beyond cost.

And they’ve signed in blood from bunker hill
To Saigon, Kuwait, Basnia
Kabul, Baghdad, and Toko Ri.
I give you the flag that says to the world
Each man has a right to be free.—Baxter Black