Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Over the history of America, we have many flags to stand for us. The Civil War was the bloodiest and costliest war fought on our soil; a war that separated and tore apart families, counties, an entire nation. Each person fought for their own reasons—we have come to pay our respects and give thanks for all the lives lost.

It was a time of great division—the men and women and children who fought under the Confederate flag did so bravely and with conviction. We have honored them, remembered them and we thank them.

Still, at the end of that great war, that flag was not a flag to rally all of our people to unity, to hope, to healing—it was a flag of only half of our people. Would we better honor our ancestors, their sacrifice by putting that flag in a place of honor of past symbols and now come together under the flag of our nation today?

The Stars and Stripes—the one our sons, daughters and grandchildren now sacrifice and fight for&mdash...