mr. speaker , i appreciate the opportunity to speak in favor of this amendment . 
hampton sides , in his book ghost soldiers , recounts the ranger action to liberate the allied pows from cabanatuan in the philippines . 
most of them were survivors of the bataan death march . 
they were emaciated , sick and weak . 
some of them had to be carried from the prison compound when it was taken by u.s. army rangers . 
what i will read now is the last paragraph of his narrative as told by its survivors . 
`` along the way we saw an american flag set in a turret of a tank . 
it was n't much of a flag , writhing in a weak breeze , but for the men of cabanatuan , the sight was galvanizing . 
ralph hibbs said his heart stopped for he realized it was the first stars and stripes he 'd seen since his surrender . 
all the men in all the trucks stood at attention and saluted . 
then came the tears . 
` we wept openly , ' said abie abraham , `and we wept without shame. ' `` some say our flag is just a piece of cloth , mr. speaker . 
grown men , particularly combat veterans , do not typically cry at the sight of a piece of cloth . 
to all patriots , particularly the majority that served under it , the american flag stands for liberty . 
to us , desecrating our flag is not a demonstration of liberty ; it is an attack on liberty . 
if it were merely a piece of cloth , our enemies would not trouble themselves to desecrate it . 
all americans are `` endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. '' among those rights enumerated in our constitution is the right of free speech . 
the constitution does not , however , afford absolute freedom of action . 
one can not spray-paint a bald eagle in protest . 
one can not deface the washington monument . 
and one should not desecrate our flag with impunity either . 
to those who say that these actions have to be taken in context , if one burns a flag for a movie it is different from burning a flag as a protest , i would say that all actions have to be taken in context . 
if one takes another person 's life in process of defending oneself , it is considered in a different context then if they took another person 's life to collect a life insurance policy . 
all actions are always taken in context , and i trust the juries of the united states to take this amendment in proper context when it is carried out . 
i would like to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the flag protection amendment . 
