IN TOUCH WITH The Red, White and Blue

In calling deceased servicemen suckers and losers, they defile the honor of Black men and women

By Betty Miller Buttram

There are two flags waving in the breeze from a neighbor’s balcony above me. One is a red flag with blue strips and white printed lettering displaying the name of the current U.S. president and his campaign logo. The other is the U.S. Flag with the colors of Red, White, and Blue. I have watched these two flags waving in the breeze, and I have thought about the significance of each one.

The Red in the U.S. flag signifies hardiness and valor; the White signifies purity and innocence; and the Blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice. The completely red flag, in my perception, signifies division. My thought is why fly the U.S. flag that unites our Nation and the red flag that is dividing our Nation alongside of each other. Where is your loyalty? To God and your country? Or to the individual who is causing the division of our country?

It has been announced through the media, newspapers, and magazines that the current president views our servicemen and women as “losers and suckers.” Losers for having lost their lives for their country and Suckers for volunteering to serve their country. This from a man who escaped military obligation by claiming to have bone spurs in his feet.

When an enlisted person joins the U.S. Armed Forces, he or she takes the Enlistment Oath… “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to the regulations and Uniform Code of Military justice, so help me God.”

The Oath of a Commissioned Officer reads like this: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear the true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So, help me God.”

Look at these two oaths and concentrate on the pledge of the Enlisted person…” I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed above me….” The Commissioned Officer’s oath does not imply orders from the President but that he or she will support and defend the Constitution of the United States. I interpret these oaths to mean that the enlisted person will only act on orders from the President if the commissioned officer above him or her gives the go ahead. If he is a top general, he might get fired or retired early for disobeying orders from the President and that is the chance he takes. Our U.S. Generals are not weak as someone has proclaimed. They respect the Office of the President, but their allegiance is not to the Office of the President but to their country, the United States of America. Some U.S. Presidents have served only four years, and some have served for eight years. According to the U.S. Constitution, that is the limit of their presidential service. The U.S. Generals and commissioned officers can serve more than twenty-five years and so can an enlisted soldier. The Generals, other commissioned officers, and the enlisted men and women are the protectors of the U.S. Constitution, and they serve to keep our country safe.

I thought about the late U.S. Senator John McClain, a commissioned U.S. Navy officer, who was captured in the Vietnam War and held prisoner for five years. When he was released, he had injuries from being tortured. He continued his civilian service with the U.S. Government until his death in 2018 and was buried with military honors. He was a hero.

I reflected on the military service of the relatives in the Miller Buttram family tree and the family historians of each family clarified some of the details for me.

In the year of 1898, two young brothers from the state of Tennessee enlisted in the U.S. Army and spent some time in the Spanish American War. They were assigned to the same colored regiment as First Lieutenant Benjamin O. Davis (Senior). They returned to Tennessee and settled down. Burt Buttram married and fathered eight children. Jim Buttram never married and had no children but was a very beloved uncle. Their support in the Spanish American War has always remained a part of the family history, and other members followed into the U.S. Armed Forces.

Burt’s youngest son and last child, Clarence Buttram, enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II as well as Burt’s first grandson, Myers Browne. They both survived and returned home to the States. In the 1960’s, Burt’s second and third grandsons, Clifford, Sr. and Jack Buttram were drafted into the U.S. Army. Clifford, Sr. served during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, and in 1964, Jack was deployed to South Korea for a year. In 1984, Burt’s great-grandson, Clifford Jr., went off to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and majored in Criminal Justice. While attending college, he joined the U.S. Army ROTC, graduated from college and the ROTC commissioned him as a First Lieutenant. He served his country for twenty years and retired as a U.S Army Major in 2008. In January 2020, Burt’s great-great grandson and Clifford, Jr.’s son, Darius Buttram, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and is now stationed at the Naval Base in Portsmouth, Virginia.

On the Miller side of the family, three cousins and two nephews have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. John Tobey Miller enlisted in the U.S. Army after the Korean War and before the Vietnam War. Allen E. “Mickey” Miller was a U.S. Marine who did two tours of Vietnam, served six years, and was discharged as a Marine Sergeant. Thaddeus “Butch” Barr served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War as a Paratrooper. He earned two Purple Hearts, a Parachute Badge, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Army Accommodation Medal. Two nephews, who are also brothers, Michael Miller, Jr. served in the U.S. Air Force and his brother, Christopher Miller, served in the U.S. Army.

Butch Barr’s height was 6’3” and he weighed over 200 pounds. He had a booming baritone voice. One day in June of this year, I received a call that Butch was hospitalized. I asked was it COVID-19, and the answer was that it was not certain. Butch died in July of COVID-19 alone in a hospital on a ventilator. He did make one call before being placed on the ventilator to a cousin and soon afterwards he was gone. I attended his funeral service via live streaming on my personal computer. U.S. Representative James Clyburn, South Carolina, was one of the speakers honoring my cousin. Butch had been a successful businessman in Florence, South Carolina, and he and Representative Clyburn were always in contact with each other. Those numbers reflecting the ones who have died from this virus has hit home. My cousin is included in those numbers. To hear that some of these deaths could have been preventable if only the American people have been told the truth is devastating to hear.

I give you this personal history of the servicemen in my family because I am proud of them. I am certain you have family who have served or are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. These men and women are not losers or suckers and to be called such names is very disrespectful and very despicable. They are winners and heroes.

Both of those flags are still waving from my neighbor’s balcony above me, but I pledge allegiance to the Red, White, and Blue flag and to the one Nation under God whom we place all our trust.