Passing the torch of patriotism

linda.gordon@hartselleenquirer.com

At the Hartselle Veterans Day parade in 2012, Korean War veteran George Griffith snapped a photo of a Tiger Cub Scout waving an American flag. The brief encounter was random. Neither knew the other’s name, but they shared a respect for the flag and an appreciation for those who have defended it.

In 2020, the two reconnected through a Facebook post. The former Tiger Cub was Griff Knox, then14 years old, still active in the Boy Scouts, and still harboring a love for the American flag. The relationship between the two grew to eventually include all of Boy Scout Troop 92. Griffith and his wife, Betty, became a part of the Troop 92 family, hosting the troop for camping and fishing, donating camping equipment and other items, and presenting the troop with an American Flag that had flown over the US Capitol building.

When Knox selected his Eagle Scout project, he chose to create a retirement pit for respectfully and honorably disposing of worn American Flags. A depository box was located at the Hartselle Police Department for collecting flags for disposal, and periodic flag retirement ceremonies began at American Legion Post 52.

This past Veterans Day the two reconnected for yet another photo at the Hartselle parade and participated together in yet another flag retirement ceremony. Griffith, 91, fondly reminisces about the chance meeting with “a young man waving a flag in 2012.” Knox, now a student at Wallace State, has plans to pursue a career in law enforcement. Both men have changed throughout the past 12 years, but their shared spirit of patriotism and their love for Old Glory remains the same.