Code Archives - Author K. Williams

This is an issue ripe with contention. First you have a veteran being man handled by cops, then you have a veteran ignoring the code they should honor and, probably firstly, you have a woman being judged for nudity…again.

Air Force veteran, Michelle Manhart, has posed with the flag nude. Though this is a violation of Flag Code, upheld by the armed services, I want to know if men would be held to the same account. If so, where are the cases? (I did a quick search and came up empty handed.) There are plenty of beefy male soldiers images online. If I find one that is draping the flag over his naked genitals, I will look to see if he was demoted. Likely not. Likely the calendars are sanctioned by the armed forces and the regulations adhered to. It’s a pretty easy rule to remember. However, Manhart quit the Air Force because of the issue–and she still defended the flag, which she calls the iconic symbol of freedom.

What are your thoughts on this issue? I’m not certain it’s sexism. Let’s find some male cases to combat that knee-jerk assumption. After all, equality is about all genders being treated equal. This event is just an unfortunate instance that has caught fire in the media.

Flag-Saving Air Force Vet Apparently Violated Flag Code During Nude Photo Shoot

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These men, along with the Tuskegee airmen, have held my greatest admiration. I’m pretty well obsessed with the era to begin with, but I also adore men and women of valor who face great odds on all sides. No one knows this struggle better than Native Americans. These are true American heroes, in every sense of the word. Without them, we very well may have lost the war to the Axis Powers. Imagine what that would mean for people of color, for Jewish peoples…women.

Read more about the Navajo Code Talkers…

Telling the Story: Code Talkers: The Subset of American Indians Soldiers Who Played a Key Intelligence Role in WWII – National Museum of American Indian.

More on the Code Talkers from the Marines website.

Navajo Code Talkers Cpl. Oscar B. Gallup, Pfc. Jack Nez and Pfc. Carl Gorman were among the Marines on Saipan who landed with the first assault waves to hit the beach. The Code Talkers’ primary mission was to send and receive encrypted messages, but as a result saw their fair share of combat in the Pacific.(Photo courtesy of U.S. Marine Corps Historical Division)