FRANKLIN
Far more than it used to happen, Welton Deshields says that people will come up to him and thank him for his service.

“At first, I’ll be caught off guard, then I’ll remember what hat I’m wearing and be like, ‘Oh, yeah,’” he said. “Since I have been in service, it has gotten a lot better. Somewhere along the way, people’s attitude changed, and I don’t know when. Particularly so with Vietnam veterans.”

David Flythe, former post commander, said he thinks it was around 9-11 when the attitude began to shift.

“I think it caused people to realize that we are vulnerable,” he said.

“We serve really to protect our country,” Deshields continued. “If we don’t do it, who is going to do it?”

Post 73 Chaplain Howard Vinson said he doesn’t just devote Veteran’s Day to thanking veterans.

“I am to the point that if I see a veteran anywhere I go and can recognize it from a hat or whatever, I’ll thank him for serving,” he said. “And if I am wearing my hat, they’ll thank me right back.

“We all wore the uniform with pride.”

On Veterans Day, and 10 other holidays, the Charles R. Younts American Legion Post 73 goes around the city and puts up around 170 American flags, which is sponsored by local businesses and placed in front of those businesses. In some spots, they also put up state flags.

“We promote patriotism and respect for the American flag,” Flythe said. “To see it mishandled, it really tears me up — particularly on TV when you see people burning it. I think America needs more patriotism.

“When I see a flag flying, it reminds me that veterans fought hard for my freedom.”

Though they are patriotic, it doesn’t mean they always agree with the government, particularly with the situation with the VA Hospitals. It is a disgrace that programs such as Wounded Warrior have to exist because the government can’t take care of those who served, said Chuck Williams, a member.

“When I hear the term homeless veteran, I can’t even fathom it,” Another member, David Scott, added. “We need to stop sending so much money overseas, to places like Saudi Arabia. There are many people who are homeless, who have no job, and we need to take care of them. The government needs to step up to the plate.”

Flythe said putting up the flags brings attention to the public about what the day stands for, more so than if the flags were not there.

One of the days, said Deshields, someone once asked them why they were putting them up on this day, which was leading up to Saturday, May 17.

“That one is Armed Forces Day, and some people just don’t know about it,” he said.

It’s also not the City of Franklin doing it, Legionnaires insist.

“In most places, the city puts up the flags,” said Legion President David Davis. “Some people still think that it is the city doing it when they see the flags out there.”

Davis said it is a service they are proud to perform.

The American flags go up on Martin Luther King Jr. / Lee-Jackson Day, Presidents’ Day, Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Election Day, Veterans Day, and this year, for the first time, for the remembrance of 9-11.

Flythe said the Legion was planning to have a ceremony for Veterans Day, but it was in the hands of Carroll Cannon, who passed away on Sept. 4.

“I remember going up there to the hospital and he said, ‘When I get out, we are going to start on that Veterans Day program,’” Flythe said. “If there was a rank in the Legion, he’d be the Admiral for all he did.”

“To me, Carroll was Mr. American Legion,” Vinson added.

Deshields said Cannon was always doing so many things for the Legion, some of it recognized, and many more things unrecognized. When Vinson went to visit Cannon before he died, he was even worried about putting up the flags.

“He was so concerned about the flags,” he said. “I said, ‘Don’t worry, we have it covered.’”