We all recall that fateful day in 1986 when the space shuttle Challenger blew up just moments after lift-off. I was just shy of ten years old, watching the historic moment on TV. I didn’t understand what had happened until it was explained to me, and I didn’t know until years later the story of the American flag that survived the explosion. “Threads of Honor” by master storyteller Gordon W. Ryan tells the story of that flag.
Bill Tolbert, Air Force Major and Boy Scout Leader, told Ryan his story. Given the daunting task of taking six Boy Scouts under his wing, Bill determined to make the best of it and requested a troop flag with a history — one that had flown at the nation’s capitol. When the request was granted, the flag brought new life to the troop, and soon fifteen boys were attending the meetings. While this brought Bill some well-earned pride, the real pride was felt by the flag itself. This book tells segments of the story through the viewpoint of the flag, a plot device I found unusual and compelling.
The flag tells of the moment it first began to think and feel, and how it longed to take to the breeze and flutter over the world around it. It tells of the pride it took in being a nation’s capitol flag, and how it felt to be sent on to the Boy Scout troop, knowing that it would be treated with respect and honor.
Ryan then details Tolbert’s plan to get the flag included on a space mission. He appealed to NASA time and again to take the flag on one of their trips into space, but the request was turned down just as many times. Finally, after giving it one last go, permission was given for the flag to be included on a flight, and the Boy Scouts gathered around the television to watch their flag take to the skies, tucked inside the flight kit.
Shock filled the room as the Challenger exploded. Tolbert knew that something was wrong instantly, but the boys couldn’t understand what had happened. It fell to Tolbert to explain.
It seemed a trick of fate. After all this time spent appealing to NASA to include their flag, to be turned down repeatedly and then finally accepted, only to see the shuttle that carried the flag destroyed. The boys were upset and disheartened.
What none of them knew at that time was that the flight kit had fallen, intact, into the ocean. As wreckage was retrieved, the kit was found, and miraculously the flag was not damaged at all.
With an artful weaving of historical facts and touching patriotism, Gordon W. Ryan shares a story we all should hear. The American flag is more than just a cloth; it is the symbol of our nation, and long may it wave.
(This book was published in 1996 by Shadow Mountain.)
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Family Home Evening: Patriotism
Pledge of Allegiance Protected For Our Children