County Flew Flag 24 Hours a Day Showing Support for Vietnam War

COURT HOUSE — Towering over the Cape May County seat, flying day and night in front of the Historic Courthouse, is an American flag.
For Flag Day, June 14, Rick Rixey of Court House, whose late father Joseph Rixey was a Cape May County freeholder, sent a news clipping from the Aug. 10, 1967 Philadelphia Evening Bulletin written by reporter Frank Toughill that the county adopted “a new wrinkle to the old custom of flying the flag…The idea is not to take the flag down at night or in bad weather but to keep is flying until the war in Vietnam is successfully concluded.”
The idea was to let the servicemen and women “know the country is behind them,” he reported.
Freeholders said the action was meant, “to counteract the actions of draft card burners and peace demonstrators,” the story continued.
By freeholder resolution, the flag was to fly at all county buildings for the war’s duration.
Introduced by the late Freeholder Francis Townsend, on the suggestion of the Ocean City Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the idea was to help boost morale of troops serving in that Southeast Asian war that there was support back home.
Freeholders purchased special all-weather, tear-proof flags that could withstand the constantly wind over the courthouse.
The story stated, “The freeholders reported that hundreds of letters were received from such widespread states as California, Florida and New York, praising the idea and saying it was being adopted. Communities around the nation have followed suit.”
One such supportive letter was from Col. John R. S tow, chief of special planning ssecion with Gen. William Westmoreland’s staff in Vietnam.
Rixey wrote in his e-mail, “Just thought it might be a good FLAG DAY article for you to report on. Dad was very patriotic and was most proud of this moment. He passed away December 21, 1995.”
Contact Campbell at (609) 886-8600 Ext 28 or at: al.c@cmcherald.com