[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 59 (Monday, May 15, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4565-S4566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMEMORATING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HEROIC RESCUE OF THE AMERICAN
FLAG
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 477 which was submitted earlier
today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 477) commemorating the 30th
anniversary of the date that Rick Monday heroically rescued
the American flag from being desecrated.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, the baseball field has been the setting for
some of the most meaningful moments in American history. It was on a
baseball field that the great slugger Lou Gehrig, shortly after
learning he was suffering from a fatal disease, delivered his
poignantly stirring farewell speech, in which he declared himself to be
``the luckiest man on the face of the earth.'' It was on a baseball
field that Jackie Robinson broke the color line that had prevented
African Americans from competing in the Major Leagues, thus triggering
not only integration in professional baseball but the removal of racial
barriers throughout American society as well. And it was on a baseball
field 30 years ago that another significant moment took place, one that
continues to resonate in the minds of millions of Americans.
On April 25, 1976, the Chicago Cubs were playing the Los Angeles
Dodgers in an afternoon game at Dodger Stadium. It was early in the
season; thus, not much was riding on the game's outcome. Both teams
were under .500 at the time. So for the fans in attendance, there was
little reason to believe at the outset that the game ultimately would
be anything more than pleasantly forgettable.
That all changed during the bottom of the game's fourth inning. The
Dodgers were at bat when two protestors ran out onto the outfield grass
carrying an American flag. These two proceeded to spread the flag on
the ground, douse it with lighter fluid, and pull out some matches.
Playing centerfield for the Cubs that day was Rick Monday. As soon as
he recognized that these individuals were about to burn the American
flag, Monday charged towards them. As Monday--a former Marine Corps
reservist--would later describe, ``I was mad. What they were trying to
do was wrong. It was wrong in 1976, and I still think it's wrong today.
. . . That flag represents all the rights and freedoms that we have in
this country. If you desecrate the flag, you desecrate the efforts of
all the people who fought and died to protect those rights and
freedoms.'' Just as one of the protestors was about to put a lit match
to the American flag, Monday--while running at full speed--grabbed the
flag away.
The legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully did the radio play-
by-play for the Dodgers that day. His real-time description of the
incident was as follows:
There's two of them. I'm not sure what he's doing out
there. It looks like he's going to burn a flag. And Rick
Monday runs and takes it away from him!. . . . I think a guy
was going to set fire to an American flag, can you imagine
that? Monday, when he realized what [the protestor] was going
to do, raced over and took the flag away from him. . . . This
guy was going to try and perform the indignity of setting
fire to the American flag. . . . It looked like a piece of
cloth but you couldn't really tell from here what it was. But
Monday, from his angle, took one look and realized it was a
flag. And the fellow evidently was all set to set fire to
it when Monday realized it.
And Rick will get an ovation and properly so. So Rick
Monday--his alertness and quick thinking--gets a round of
applause in center field. And on the message board, it just
says, ``Rick Monday--You Made a Great Play.'' And Monday is
getting another ovation, and well he should. And now a lot of
the folks are standing, and now the whole ballpark. And he's
going to get a standing ovation.
Rick Monday's courageous and patriotic act of saving the American
flag from public desecration then inspired the crowd at Dodger Stadium
to spontaneously begin singing ``God Bless America.'' As Monday
remembers it, ``It moved the entire crowd. I don't remember if we won
or lost the game, but I'll never forget the people singing.''
Rick Monday soon began receiving thousands of letters from people all
across the country thanking him for rescuing the flag. His heroic act
was especially inspiring to those men and women who were serving in the
military or were war veterans. For instance, Monday received a letter
from a Vietnam veteran who, as Monday described:
wrote that there were two things that he had with him in two
tours of Vietnam. These two things kept him in check with
reality. One was a small picture of his wife. The other was a
small American flag that was neatly folded. The picture was
folded inside the flag and in the left breast pocket of his
uniform. He would be in mud for weeks and months at a time.
Those two things were what he looked at to connect him with
reality, other than his buddies, and some of them were lost
in battle. He wrote in the letter, ``Thanks for protecting
what those of us who were in Vietnam held onto dearly.''
More recently, Monday was visiting the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in
Hawaii when a survivor of Pearl Harbor walked up to him. When Monday
went to shake his hand, the veteran--with tears in his eyes--raised his
arm and saluted Monday. He then told Monday, ``What you did reaffirmed
everything we did as members of the Armed Services.''
To fully appreciate what Rick Monday did 30 years ago, one must
remember what the country was going through at that time. The Vietnam
War and Watergate had left our country bitterly divided, and America
was
[[Page S4566]]
struggling to regain its confidence in the tumultuous aftermath. In
saving the American flag from those who sought to desecrate it, Monday
conveyed through his actions that the country the flag represents, as
well as the liberty and justice the flag symbolizes, are precious and
worth defending. Monday's rescue of the flag thus helped rejuvenate
American patriotism throughout the country. For this reason, the
Baseball Hall of Fame recognizes the actions taken by Monday when he
saved the American Flag as one of the 100 Classic Moments in the
history of baseball.
Because of the courage and patriotism demonstrated on a baseball
field by Rick Monday 30 years ago, I am pleased to introduce a
resolution commemorating the 30th anniversary of the date that Rick
Monday heroically rescued the American flag from being desecrated. It
is a fitting way to honor a historic act performed by a man who not
only was a great ballplayer but who is a great American as well.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider
be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 477) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 477
Whereas, on April 25, 1976, Rick Monday played centerfield
for the Chicago Cubs in a game against the Los Angeles
Dodgers at Dodger Stadium;
Whereas, during the 4th inning of that game, 2 individuals
ran onto the outfield of Dodger Stadium, doused an American
Flag with lighter fluid, and attempted to set the Flag on
fire;
Whereas, once Rick Monday recognized that those individuals
were about to publicly desecrate the American Flag, he
quickly ran towards those individuals and grabbed the
American Flag from them just as they were attempting to place
a lit match on to the Flag;
Whereas the patriotic act of Rick Monday to rescue the
American Flag inspired--
(1) the crowd at Dodger Stadium to stand in ovation and
spontaneously begin singing ``God Bless America'';
(2) millions of citizens throughout the United States,
especially those citizens who were serving or had served in
the Armed Forces; and
(3) citizens of the United States who today continue look
to the Flag as a symbol of liberty and justice;
Whereas Rick Monday, after reflecting on his act of
rescuing the American Flag, said: ``That flag represents all
the rights and freedoms that we have in this country. If you
desecrate the flag, you desecrate the efforts of all the
people who fought and died to protect those rights and
freedoms.'';
Whereas the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame recognizes
the actions taken by Rick Monday when he saved the American
Flag as 1 of the 100 Classic Moments in the history of
baseball;
Whereas Rick Monday served the United States honorably and
courageously in the Marine Corps Reserve for over 6 years;
Whereas Rick Monday was a 2-time Major League Baseball All-
Star during his distinguished, 19-year career; and
Whereas April 25, 2006, marked the 30th anniversary of the
date that Rick Monday saved the American Flag from being
desecrated: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) commemorates the 30th anniversary of the date that Rick
Monday heroically rescued the American Flag from being
desecrated;
(2) recognizes Rick Monday for--
(A) his courage and patriotism;
(B) upholding the noble ideals and freedoms represented by
the American Flag; and
(C) honoring the men and women whose sacrifices have
protected those ideals and freedoms;
(3) respectfully requests the Secretary of the Senate to
transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to--
(A) Rick Monday;
(B) the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in
Cooperstown, New York;
(C) the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig;
(D) the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers owner, Frank
McCourt; and
(E) the owner of the Chicago Cubs, the Tribune Company.
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