Folding Flags

By Sonya Young

Folding Flags challenges the reader to intimately look at death through the eyes of Nellie Page, a former member of the Honor Guard. Inspired by firsthand accounts, the multifaceted story shatters the reader's stereotypical perception associated with a sterile and stoic service member, revealing instead a deeper understanding of imperfection and unpredictability. Her journey, a vulnerable exploration woven by invisible strings intertwining a blanket of patriotism and love for our Nation's Flag. Folding Flags is a story about finding grace unexpectedly and begrudgingly revealing with each folding of the flag, emotional humanity, and imperfection in each of the ceremony's participants.

 

Folding Flags bridges the gap between honoring the life and death of the American Soldier."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sonya Young
• Release date: Mar 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393265016

Sonya Young

Sonya Young is a retired Air Force Intelligence Officer who served twenty-one years in, Counterterrorism, Targeting, Space and Missile Systems and Air Defense. Serving 20 plus years as an Officer and Enlisted gave Sonya a unique perspective of the military and she now writes to bridge the gap between military service and the human thread that is woven throughout each level of command. After leaving the military, Sonya started painting and pursuing her creative side through art and design.  You can see more about Sonya at: www. artybysonyayoung.com

Book preview

Folding Flags

Folding Flags

Sonya Young

Lakeview Publications

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Author owns complete rights to this material and may be contacted in regards to distribution.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for brief quotations in a book review in which the author is noted.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2020

ISBN: 9798651530038

Book Cover Design: Bobby Barnhill

Editing: Carol Williams

Formatting: Craig A. Price

Publisher: Lakeview Publications

Vellum flower icon Created with Vellum

To the members of the Honor Guards, past and present, throughout the Department of Defense.

My endless gratitude to the men and women of C-Flight for all you gave.

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The true soldier fights, not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.

G. K. Chesterton

This story is based on actual events. In certain cases incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious.

Prologue

January 2025

Congressman Thomas Ferrer’s Office

His back is straight and tall as he hangs a few items in his new office. His aide, Talbert, offers to finish decorating for him, but Thomas declines. There are certain things he wants to handle himself. He’s a freshman Congressman and wants to ensure that first impressions of him exceed expectations.

Respectfully, he grabs a shadow box from his time in the U.S. Air Force, a box that captures a glimpse of his service, along with his awards and medals. Holding his most precious belongings, besides his wife and children, the box holds intimate and sacred memories of his service. Congressman Ferrer looks upon the box with fondness and aggravation. The flag inside the box is not folded just right, at least not for his taste. He is irritated that the stars are not precisely aligned and that whoever folded it was in a hurry. He knows he is hypercritical, a characteristic that he might argue is a result of his military service. Thomas wants the shadow box front and center in his waiting area as a reminder for his constituents that he has always stood up for the values of our nation.

Before Congress, Thomas’ career focus was equal rights. Earlier, as a political science professor at the University of Colorado, he challenged young minds to consider the meaning of equality. He would admit to his students that the military changed some of his earlier perceptions about race and equality. The Honor Guard team that he was assigned to especially helped him recognize that not everyone was like the racists he grew up with. He found that individuals from all walks of life could and would stand alongside him to fight for a common cause.

He shared with his classes that the bonds he forged in the military blurred racial and religious lines, and he recognized that he, too, grew from his exposure to other ethnic and religious groups. He, with humility, would tell them that he was forced to set aside some of his own prejudices after coming face to face with them.

Thomas briefly contemplates the members he served with on C-Flight and tells his students a little about the ones he remembers most, as if to prove his point.

"Nellie was Caucasian and an atheist but referred to herself as spiritual. Bishop was a second-generation Italian with strong Catholic roots. Finally, Nathaniel, although half-black, was also half-Puerto Rican who pledged that studying the psychology of man was his religion.

Our only common thread was the military, and our commitment to it, he said.

Thomas and Nathaniel remained connected long after they each retired, while he spoke to the others, from time to time, mostly on milestone events.

In recent years, Thomas had spent more time off campus, participating in civil rights rallies, and advising local officials on legislation protecting young black men from what he considered overreach of power. He credits each of these experiences with his motivation to run for a seat in the United States House of Representatives for Colorado.

His memories of C-Flight are always on the forefront of his decision-making and act like an internal compass for him when he is lost or unsure about a decision.

Just as Thomas places the shadowbox perfectly, Talbert draws his attention to a new proposal rumored to have support. Thomas, sensing urgency in Talbert’s tone, decides he is satisfied with his office for the moment. He takes the document from Talbert and begins to read. Sitting before Thomas is a piece of legislation, entitled H. R. 2580 - To protect the U.S. flag from destruction, drafted by members of the House who would like to restrict access to our nation’s flag: who can display it or purchase it. The legislation is a consequence of an increase in domestic terrorism and civil disobedience along party lines, often ending with destruction to the flag. Representatives site an unusual uptick in flag burnings on college campuses and among fringe political groups as reason to bring forth this legislation.

Recently, a domestic terrorist group targeted two flag-manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania and Illinois with homemade explosives, claiming that the flag was a symbol of elitism. The death total reached 38, leaving several others injured. Both facilities had to close temporarily and currently have no reopen date. This single act of violence spurred a nationwide debate about the flag; the true meaning of the flag, and who should have access to it, if anyone at all.

Patriotic citizens, mortified by the events, demanded that the government do something to put an end to the disrespect of the flag. Burning the flag, although provocative, has been protected under the First Amendment for years. But something had changed in our nation’s climate and an intolerance was growing; #protectoldglory was trending for weeks on Twitter and Instagram. So, it didn’t surprise him when Republican representatives from the Dakotas, Alabama, and Mississippi co-signed a bill to be considered for a vote in their next session.

Thomas knows from personal experience that the flag is our nation’s most powerful symbol. The power it wields comes from its story of freedom, hope, and opportunity. A symbol so powerful that citizens of other nations covet its hopeful rays of liberty. Thomas knows that this bill, if passed, will single-handedly destroy all of that for generations to come. Regardless of the strength of our economy or military, restricting access to the flag could be the final excuse for zealots and angry activists to erupt and rip apart our nation’s fragile fiber. For the first time since 9/11, Thomas is worried about the spirit and soul of the United States.

He pauses after reading the bill and silently acknowledges that several years ago this piece of legislation would never have made it to discussion, much less a vote. His fear is palpable, and it makes him uncomfortable to think that this mindset was even a reality for some. He knows deeply that he will have to speak out against the bill and that it will require skill and a unifying perspective to defeat it.

No longer able to beat back his hunger, Thomas glances down at his watch and realizes its past 9pm. He sees numerous missed calls on his cell phone. Several are from his wife, but a handful are from Nathaniel. His wife’s calls are expected at this hour; he would normally call her if he were working past 7 pm. He is, however, surprised by the calls from Nathaniel. Thomas hesitates before he presses the button to play Nathaniel’s voicemail, as if sensing deep down inside that this message is important.

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Chapter One

Beverly

January 2025

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Office of Nathaniel Akers, MD

Chief of Behavioral Health,

Walter Reed Medical Facility

Beverly stands at Dr. Akers door and hesitates a moment. She knows it the last thing she must do before moving on with her life. This task, however, feels the most difficult for her, somehow. She has lost patients along her journey, but none quite like this last one. Finishing this one final request today means that it is time for her to carry on and start a new adventure with a new patient. Acknowledging this moment, she realizes