{"id":2223,"date":"2015-05-14T09:24:57","date_gmt":"2015-05-14T13:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=2223"},"modified":"2025-04-18T10:29:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T14:29:01","slug":"fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/","title":{"rendered":"Fly flags to honor wounded veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An<\/a>
An 18th-century illustration of the Aeneid shows a wounded warrior.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wars throughout the centuries \u2013 large or small, won or lost, justified or not \u2013 have two things in common: flags and veterans. The flags fly as veterans march away \u2013 and back home, many of them injured in mind or body.<\/p>\n

A common term for such men and women is \u201cwounded warriors,\u201d a phrase used across the centuries, and they deserve medals, applause and support to restore them to wholeness.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A volunteer writes a letter for a soldier wounded in WWI. (Smithsonian Institution)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the 1700s, British poet Christopher Pitt translated Virgil\u2019s \u201cAeneid\u201d from Latin to English. In Pitt\u2019s version of the story of the legendary founder of Rome, he describes the devastation of a battle: \u201cIn the red deluge all the fields lie drown\u2019d;\/And cries and agonizing groans resound\/Of wounded warriors, lab\u2019ring out their breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

A century later, The New York Times reported on the Spanish-American War. Noting that injured men were shipped from Cuba to Florida for treatment, the article called attention to \u201cthese wounded warriors returning to their native soil after their glorious achievements in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In New Guinea during WWII, wounded men are transported on a Jeep. (Library of Congress)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1914, that newspaper\u2019s coverage of the First World War revealed how passenger cars were pressed into service because there were not enough ambulances to cope with the carnage. A former U.S. ambassador to France even took it upon himself to buy a car in Paris and drive it toward the sound of the guns \u201cto rescue wounded warriors.\u201d<\/p>\n

During World War II, a Louisiana newspaper described a hospital for returning veterans under the headline: \u201cAmerica\u2019s Wounded Warriors<\/a> Given Care in Huge Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wounded<\/a>
Wounded men on stretchers in WWI. (Library of Congress)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each of those scenes contains a subtext: Wounded warriors are often neglected. In the Roman epic, the suffering lay forgotten on the battle field. In the report on the Spanish-American War, the Times disclosed that \u201cthe provision [of aid] was entirely inadequate.\u201d<\/p>\n

During WWI, the necessity of commandeering private vehicles underscored a failure to treat the suffering swiftly. The account of the hospital in the 1940s reveals the story of an airman in Burma who sustained severe wounds to his skull. Unconscious for two weeks, he was then placed on a ship for a trip home \u2013 that took 78 days!<\/p>\n

Since 1776, \u00a0have fluttered for such men and women \u2013 and for their successors in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East. But hearts should flutter for them, too, along with generous donations to organizations that aid heroes, including the VFW, American Legion and Wounded Warrior Project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wars throughout the centuries \u2013 large or small, won or lost, justified or not \u2013 have two things in common: flags and veterans. The flags fly as veterans march away \u2013 and back home, many of them injured in mind or body. A common term for such men and women is \u201cwounded warriors,\u201d a phrase… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[28,291,126,99,290,292,146,112,289],"class_list":["post-2223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-american-flags","tag-american-legion","tag-soldiers","tag-spanish-american-war","tag-veterans","tag-vfw","tag-world-war-i","tag-world-war-ii","tag-wounded-warrior"],"yoast_head":"\nFly flags to honor wounded veterans | Wounded Warrior<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A common term for such men and women is \u201cwounded warrior,\u201d a phrase used across the centuries.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fly flags to honor wounded veterans | Wounded Warrior\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A common term for such men and women is \u201cwounded warrior,\u201d a phrase used across the centuries.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-14T13:24:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-18T14:29:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/A-volunteer-writes-a-letter-for-a-soldier-wounded-in-WWI.-Smithsonian-Institution.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Breig\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Breig\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/\",\"name\":\"Fly flags to honor wounded veterans | Wounded Warrior\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/A-volunteer-writes-a-letter-for-a-soldier-wounded-in-WWI.-Smithsonian-Institution.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-14T13:24:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-18T14:29:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/048662cff3dee1c17360c4683b5fe03a\"},\"description\":\"A common term for such men and women is \u201cwounded warrior,\u201d a phrase used across the centuries.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/fly-flags-honor-wounded-warrior\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/A-volunteer-writes-a-letter-for-a-soldier-wounded-in-WWI.-Smithsonian-Institution.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/A-volunteer-writes-a-letter-for-a-soldier-wounded-in-WWI.-Smithsonian-Institution.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":450,\"caption\":\"A volunteer writes a letter for a soldier wounded in WWI. 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