Veteran Gail Swentkofske spoke Thursday to the Columbus Exchange and Kiwanis clubs about the Pledge of Allegiance for the Exchange Club’s annual “One Nation Under God” Program.
Swentkofske retired from active duty as a lt. colonel in the Air Force in 2008 after over 20 years of service, including an eight-month tour in Iraq in 2004-2005. During her speech to the Exchange Club, Swentkofske told stories from her deployment to Iraq and shared her feelings on the importance of the Pledge of Allegiance and why the prhase “under God” should be part of it.
Swentkofske always watches people when they are saying the pledge of allegiance. She pays attention to whether they are standing, saying the words confidently or have their hands over their hearts. She said that for the most part, people stand and say it loudly, but she marvels at people who don’t.
Swentkofske talked about the history of the pledge and credited civic groups such as the Knights of Columbus with pushing for the phrase “under God” to be added to the pledge during the Eisenhower administration. The idea of monotheism is one of the American values that the pledge is meant to convey, Swentkofske said. Specifically, it is important because it rejects values of Communism which holds government supreme to the individual, she said.
The phrase “under God” conveys dignity, power and sacredness, and stresses that individuals have rights from a creator that unifies them and not from a government, she said. It also reminds that Americans consider religious freedom a sacred right, she added.
“The recitation of the pledge of allegiance reminds me of my freedom to choose, to choose to remain as an American, subject to its rule of law, and to worship God,” Swentkofske said.
Swentkofske also talked about her deployment in Iraq, where she stayed over Christmas. She received care packages and handwritten notes from friends and family during that time and says she remembers them and appreciates them even years later.
“As we enter Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday season, I urge each of you to remember that today I stood in front of each of you and delivered some small acts of kindness extended to me during the Thanksgiving and Christmas period,” she said.
During the program, Heritage junior Reed Hairston sang the National Anthem and two other songs. The program also included the presentation of colors from Boy Scouts from Troop 1 Honor Guard and a prayer from Raigan Miskelly, a reverend at First United Methodist Church.
The Exchange Club holds the “One Nation Under God” Program every year to celebrate religious freedom and promote the use of the pledge of allegiance and support keeping the phrase “under God” in the pledge.
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