Teaching Patriotism

Those of us who wear the Medal of Honor fully realize that it does not make us special, but it does make us beholden. We are beholden first to America’s nobility, our fellow veterans, many who sacrificed their youth that liberty might grow old — who are responsible for us wearing it, and for whom we wear it. But most of all, we are beholden to the good Lord who allowed us to be born into this great country and to serve her in uniform. We are patriots.

We know that what we did to earn the medal is far less important than what we are able to do with it. We realize we were saved to serve, and to show our gratitude, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society began a Character Development Program some years ago. We use the celebrity associated with the medal as a teaching aid to instill in our youth the symbolic values of the medal: courage, sacrifice, and patriotism. These values, although vital, are seldom taught in our schools.

Teach and inspire

Courage is the key to success in life. And I believe it is founded in faith. Sacrifice, love in action, is the key to happiness and the capacity for which is the true measure of human goodness. And patriotism is the key to the future of our country.

Over the years, in our visits to hundreds of schools and thousands of students, we noticed some significant shortfalls in these values. All too often, we found that less than a majority of our youth are extremely proud to be Americans. A significant percentage would not sacrifice or defend America. And one in seven young people think we started World War II by bombing Japan. Only one in six Americans can pass a basic test on American history. Not only are many not well-informed, but much of what they are learning is negative. How can you be proud of your country, if you are misinformed about it?

But the most serious shortfall is patriotism. Our country cannot survive if our people are not patriots. By definition, a patriot is not someone who says they love our country; a patriot is someone who proves they love our country by supporting and defending our country. Support and defend are the keywords.

All the sheep and chickens in the world hope that everyone will be vegetarians. That will never happen; there are too many wolves out there. The time will come when support and defense are necessary for survival.

Patriotism is not born in us; we don’t naturally sacrifice ourselves. It must be taught, better yet inspired. The task of every parent, every teacher, all of us, is to make patriots of our children. How? Convince them that we are an exceptional country worthy of the love necessary for the sacrifices that will be essential to our future. But the love comes first, and we may have a shortfall there. You will die for someone or something you love, not so much for something you do not love.

It is so true that, if love is to survive, it must be exercised. It is also true of patriotism.

American exceptionalism should be a part of the curriculum in every school, especially Catholic schools, where teaching values is not, or should not be, controversial.

How to teach patriotism

I teach American exceptionalism by breaking it down into three components: we are exceptional because we are an exceptionally courageous people, an exceptionally compassionate people, and an exceptionally competitive people. Any teacher worth their salt should be able to explain what American courage, compassion, and competitiveness have done to make the world a better place.

Once we convince students that America is exceptional and worthy of their love, patriotism will follow. And our future is secure.

To impress on young people the importance and seriousness of patriotism, I use a story about Webster Anderson, a soldier attacked on an outpost in Vietnam by communists. Despite repeated and near-fatal wounds, Webster led his men to victory over the communists. I flew in that night and picked up Webster and his wounded men. Amazingly, the physicians saved his life, but they could not save two legs and one arm. For that action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Webster and I became close, and some years later, we were speaking at a school in Oklahoma. One of the youngsters asked Webster if he would do what he did again, knowing that it would cost him two legs and an arm. Webster’s answer moves me to this day. He said, kid I only have one arm left, but my country can have it any time they want.

Webster defined, perhaps for the first time, patriotism for those young people. I doubt they will ever forget that great soldier propped up before them, more plastic than flesh, and his lesson on patriotism.

Peace is the ultimate victory of all warriors, and peace is possible only through strength. Patriots are the essence of American strength and the only sure guarantee of peace and our future.

The bottom line is that we have a crisis in our classrooms, devoid of values and patriotism — both threats to our future. Our schools must instill in our children a love of country and a willingness to serve and sacrifice for her. Secular schools may have an issue with this, but our Catholic schools should not. Love, courage, and sacrifice are at the core of Jesus’s teachings and the Catholic faith.

Major General Patrick Henry Brady served 34 years in the U.S. Army, earning 87 medals including the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, six Distinguished Flying Crosses, and two Distinguished Service Medals.

A Catholic and a Soldier

“I cannot emphasize enough the role my faith played in any success I have had,” says Major General Patrick Henry Brady. He is widely recognized as the most highly decorated living veteran, holding the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, six Distinguished Flying Crosses, and two Distinguished Service Medals. His 87 total medals include 65 combat-related and 12 for valor.

After graduating from a Catholic high school and following his future wife Nancy to a Catholic university, the young Brady was commissioned in 1959 to the Army Medical Service Corps. Later, as a helicopter pilot serving two tours in Vietnam, he flew more than 2,500 combat missions and evacuated more than 5,000 wounded soldiers. Regardless of danger or weather, his unit never left a patient in the field, carrying more than 21,000 patients in nine months.

“God surely blessed this remarkable unit,” General Brady wrote later. “He most certainly showed me the light, despite my doubts in the darkness and in the fog. I may have been a willing instrument, but He is the Author of those two awards [Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross] that were the result of two epiphanies.” He says he constantly talked to God and received special insights, such as an impulse to fly his chopper sideways.

His Catholic faith “was the source of whatever courage I had: a constant source of comfort, calm, and of the confidence that allowed me to do things that for me would have otherwise been impossible,” he says. “For reasons that escape me, the Good Lord has seen fit to bless my life in so many ways, not the least of which was saving lives.”

General Brady is a past president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, through which he and fellow honorees have worked to teach virtue and patriotism to school children. With his daughter, Meghan, he wrote the book Dead Men Flying, which tells his story and describes Dust Off as the greatest battlefield evacuation in history. He has also established The General and Nancy Lee Brady Foundation to help religious sisters serving the needy.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “The love and service of one’s country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity” (CCC 2239). May God bless General Brady for his extraordinary gift of sacrifice and service to God and to all Americans.