[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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