Guest Commentary by Steve Xiarhos:
Flag Raising Was A Spontaneous, Beautiful Moment

Written by Steven G. Xiarhos
As published in the Sandwich Enterprise
July 2, 2020
Click here to read the full article on CapeNews.net

While attending the annual Sandwich Town Meeting a few weeks ago, I observed two Sandwich police officers walk by me and start to raise the American flag on the empty flagpole outside of the main entrance to the school.

When I saw it happening, I called on people present to respect the flag as it went up.

When the flag reached the top I asked my friend Matthew Levesque if he would sing our national anthem, and he did.

It was a spontaneous and beautiful moment that brought many of us together with respect and honor.

Matt and I, along with a great group of fellow Cape Cod volunteers, are involved in a Food4Vets program based here at Joint Base Cape Cod. We feed veterans and military families all over Massachusetts. We have done over 60 events since the pandemic hit, and we have done it every Tuesday and Thursday in the parking lot of Sandwich High School.

At the beginning of the Food4Vets events, we all say the Pledge of Allegiance. At the end of the events, Matt sings our national anthem.

We do it everywhere we go as part of our salute to veterans and all the men and women who serve and defend our nation, especially those that have died doing it.

I have always loved our country and our flag. My grandfather served in the US Army in World War I. My dad served in the Merchant Marines and the US Army Air Corps. My son Nicholas served as a US Marine and my son Alexander currently serves as a police officer.

I served for over 40 years as a police officer and proudly wore our American flag every day on my right sleeve.

My love for our flag and our great nation was intensified when I observed my son Nicholas come home from war draped in it.

Nick rests peacefully at our beautiful national cemetery in Bourne, forever frozen in time at age 21.

Sandwich’s Annual Town Meeting was a great event and is a true example of the power of citizens to directly impact the path of local government.

In such divisive times, it was a beautiful moment to see our flag being raised in such a patriotic and all-American town.

Last week, the Sandwich Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to have the American flag displayed outside all Annual and Special Town Meetings.

I would like to commend the Sandwich Police Department for their action at Town Meeting and members of the board for making this important decision.

We, as Americans, are always free and capable of having discussions on important issues.

But we should always honor our flag as a symbol of that freedom and others, as well as for those who have fought to preserve our freedoms across generations.

There is no better place to have the flag displayed than at a classic New England Town Meeting.

I have spent over 40 years defending freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

Our nation and everything we have sacrificed for is exemplified in the American flag. It reminds us of our common bond, and reminds us of our history with hope for a brighter future.

I would, once again, like to thank and commend the Sandwich Police Department and the board of selectmen. By showing respect for the flag, they made it possible for all of us to be reminded of the sacrifices made for our freedom and our hopes for the future of our great nation.

Mr. Xiarhos lives in West Barnstable. He is currently running to represent Sandwich and the rest of the Barnstable 5th District in the state’s House of Representatives.