By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – City officials and the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council hosted a United States flag retirement ceremony on June 14, Flag Day, in Ford Field Park, 22051 Cherry Hill Street.
The ceremony allows for the ritual burning of tattered flags that are no longer fit for public display.
Local Veteran of the Year Tom Wilson led the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by remarks by Dearborn Mayor John O’Reilly, Jr., Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad, and Dearborn Heights Mayor and Allied War Veterans Council Commander Bill Bazzi.
Bazzi said that Flag Day is a time to treasure the gift of freedom which the Stars and Stripes represent and to recall the high price that so many have paid for us to enjoy that freedom.
O’Reilly said it was great to be gathered together once more.
“I really appreciate everything that all of you do, for all of us,” he said.
Haddad said we should never take for granted the greatness of Dearborn.
“Just today, I got a visit from a Wall Street Journal Pulitzer prize-winner, who came to find some kind of conflict in our city, some type of controversy, and I like to say they think we are a third-world city,” he said. “After about an hour in my office, she called the producer and said, ‘I found something different here,’ much to her credit – a Harvard graduate, I might add.”
Haddad said Dearborn is a great city, that is an example for everyone.
“No matter what changes, if we fix the roads better, we don’t raise taxes, we make our schools better, we should never ever give up on the uniqueness and greatness that has carried Dearborn for so many years,” he said.
Haddad also said he was grateful for our country and for those who have served in our military.
“They have ensured, around the world, that we remain free, that we have opportunity, and that there is dignity for all,” he said. “Somewhere it is written in the Constitution that the inalienable rights, that all men and women are created equal, and when you think about how it was written, it tells you that, perhaps they only looked at certain people as equals when the Constitution was drafted, so, as we go forward, I think it is the responsibility of every American to ensure that in fact all people are created equal.”
Haddad said he will always stand to salute the flag, but he will also take a knee for injustice.
“I hope that someday, everyone in America will not hesitate to stand up and salute the flag, because we know then that everybody has realized the greatness of this country, and they came here for the same reasons as everyone else,” he said. “Our immigrants came here through Ellis Island because they were hopeful of what this country could provide for them.
“So, too, the people at the south border walked for hundreds of miles with children, with sick people. They are not invading the country for war; they are invading the country for the hope that they have that this is a better place for all of them.”
Haddad said Flag Day is a unique celebration, not just to retire flags with honor, but to celebrate and be grateful for the freedom, dignity and honor that this country and the great people that protect it provide for us.
“God bless Dearborn, and God bless America,” he said.
Bazzi, who spoke next, said that although there have been 27 versions of the U.S. flag, the ideals it represents have not changed.
“The colors red, white and blue were picked because they were used in the great seal of the United States,” he said. “Red for hardiness and valor, white for purity and innocence, and blue for vigilance, perseverance and justice.”
Bazzi said that in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that established June 14 as Flag Day, and, in 1949, a national Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.
“Now, 105 years after the first Flag Day, we continue the tradition,” he said.