For the safety of those involved, the sergeant has asked for the Athletics Department to not release his name.
Each season Lipscomb head baseball coach Jeff Forehand invites his friend and neighbor, a seasoned veteran, to speak to the team about why the National Anthem tradition is an important part of the game.
This year, the sergeant came on Sept. 7 and spent the afternoon speaking to both the men’s basketball and baseball teams.
“I just wanted our guys to understand more about the National Anthem and what it means to stand for the flag and for this song that we play at the beginning of every game,” Forehand said. “It should mean something more to the team when these veterans come out here to show us what it means to defend our country.”
The sergeant expressed to the athletes that the flag stands for freedom, courage, honor, service, integrity and excellence. He said that the United States of America is the best for a reason and the flag is a symbol for that idea.
The speaker also told the teams that today’s society tends to forget the sacrifice that men and women in uniform make for the safety of friends and family back home.
Senior shortstop Hunter Hanks has listened to the sergeant’s remarks for fours years in a row and said he has gained a greater appreciation for the National Anthem.
“Every since my freshman year, he has come and brought a friend to talk about what the National Anthem means to them and everything that they’ve been through overseas,” Hanks said. “Every year that he speaks to us he comes with new examples of how freedom isn’t free and every year he shares his changing outlook on life.”
The teams spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the sergeant’s prepared speech and listened to his testimony. The event ended with a presentation about how to properly stand for the National Anthem.
“You don’t fully understand or appreciate the importance of the National Anthem until somebody comes up and tells you everything that they’ve personally been through to allow us to have the freedom that we have and to allow us to express ourselves as athletes,” Hanks said. “There is a reason that we place our hand over our hearts and show these veterans that we all respect them and appreciate the sacrifices they make for us.”
Photo by Ellen Butterfield