"And she’s getting threadbare and wearing thin,

But she’s in good shape for the shape she’s in.

‘cause she’s been through the fire before

And I believe she can take a whole lot more.”

“So we raise her up every morning,

Take her down every night.

We don’t let her touch the ground

And we fold her up tight.”

—Johnny Cash (Ragged Old Flag)

The American Flag in Savannah: The Thirteen Folds

Not long ago, I attended a funeral for an American veteran from World War II, the father of a friend. Since becoming an American citizen in 2005, I’m still learning how to understand our past wars. 

Of course, back to the relatively ‘New’ Russia I left in 1997, and further back to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in which I was born, or even way back to the ‘Old’ Russia ruled by Romanov Tsars, we Russians didn’t precisely number our wars. Instead, we called each of our significant wars a Great Patriotic War — which is precisely how Russians refer to World War II today.

In this series of Postcards from Savannah, I have painted more than one scene near Chippewa Square (see PFS-41 and see PFS-51), and another on Orleans Square (see PFS-63). These two Savannah Squares were each named to honor a famous battle during the War of 1812. 

We Russians had our own Patriotic War of 1812. In the American War of 1812, the United States first declared war against the Brits and then fought off British forces who managed to occupy and burn parts of Washington D.C. In the Great Patriotic War of 1812, my Russian ancestors fought off the French near Moscow after being invaded by military forces led by Napoleon Bonaparte. 

At the time, the British were fighting against both Napoleon and the United States of America. 

These days, being part of two great countries with two-storied histories takes a great deal of extra effort to keep up on current events, not to mention events from the distant past.

I can tell you definitely that to a Russian, the Great Patriotic War is held as reverently in one’s mind as is World War II for the average American. It is nice to know that we Americans and we Russians were comrades in arms during that brutal war. It’s lovely for me to be on the same winning side!

During the funeral for my friend’s father, who I learned was a proud American veteran of World War II, I gained a clearer understanding of the reverence many Americans hold for the American flag.

I watched with great interest as an Honor Guard of soldiers paid meticulous attention to the folding of the U.S. flag that had been draped across the burial casket during the church service.

Later, I learned the significance of the 13-folds the Honor Guard made to the flag during the funeral service at the gravesite. This heartfelt practice was a revelation to me. Witnessing the ritual made it more significant whenever when I observe a flag folding on Flag Day, or Veteran’s Day, the Fourth of July, or Veteran’s Day, or whenever I attend my next funeral for an American military veteran. 

I was thinking of those 13-folds when I spotted this flag on a random street in Savannah. I’m now even more delighted to participate with greater understanding in this beautiful American tradition.