John Whitehead's Commentary
For Love of God and Country: The Trials of Patrick J. Cubbage
"I just don't get it. When you give people that flag, you see them look into it and remember a whole time in their loved one's life. So why in God's name did they fire me? Because in God's name, they did fire me."
--Patrick Cubbage
Patrick Cubbage, a 54-year-old Vietnam War veteran and evangelical Christian, is the most recent casualty in the misguided dispute over the so-called "separation of church and state"--a controversy that, at times, has consumed our nation.
Patrick was fired from his job as an honor guardsman at a New Jersey veterans memorial cemetery simply for saying "God bless you and this family, and God bless the United States of America." This brief phrase is part of the formal color guard flag ceremony for deceased veterans whose families profess a "religious preference or belief."
The irony is that the language for which Patrick was fired is no different than blessings issued by various political and military leaders on state occasions. For example, in his remarks following the demise of the crew aboard the Columbia space shuttle, President Bush declared, "May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America."
Just as there was nothing wrong with President Bush's words of condolence, there was nothing wrong with the simple blessing Patrick Cubbage uttered. In fact, the Flag Presentation Protocol pamphlet, prepared by the U.S. Department of Defense, provides that honor guardsmen can and should use the same verbiage during graveside ceremonies for religious veterans: "God bless you and this family, and God bless the United States of America."
Patrick Cubbage is no stranger to the military way of life--or the discipline that accompanies it. In 1968, he was drafted into the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the United States Army, where he served as a paratrooper during the Vietnam War. Upon leaving the Army in 1970, Patrick joined the Philadelphia police force and has since worked in a number of capacities with the district attorney's office, the sheriff's office, and on an inter-agency criminal justice commission.
Thus, Patrick Cubbage is a man who understands the richness of tradition and ceremony. For example, he joined the New Jersey National Guard in order to be the first enlisted man to offer the Silver Dollar Salute to his son Adam when he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army. And when, because of an urgent need for military personnel to meet a burgeoning demand for military honors funerals, the New Jersey National Guard asked Patrick to serve as a part-time honor guardsman at Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in North Hanover, New Jersey, he was pleased to accept.
In Patrick's opinion, the position of honor guardsman was another opportunity to serve those in need and provide veterans with a fitting farewell. Over the course of his employment at Doyle, Patrick participated in over 1,000 burial services. Part of his duties as an honor guardsman included presenting a folded American flag to the deceased veteran's family members.
And on those occasions when "the next of kin expressed a religious preference or belief," Patrick followed prescribed protocol and accompanied the presentation of the folded flag with the words of blessing.
However, after a fellow honor guardsman complained, Patrick's supervisor ordered him in mid-October 2002 to stop referring to God. The supervisor felt that it might offend the families of veterans and other honor guardsmen. Patrick reluctantly agreed to use the blessing only if the deceased veteran's next of kin specifically requested that it be included.
Therefore, on October 31, 2002, when the son of a deceased veteran asked that Patrick include the blessing in his graveside presentation, he naturally agreed. Shortly afterwards, a fellow honor guardsman reported the incident and Patrick was fired. The rest, as they say, is history. Or perhaps it is history in the making because, with the help of The Rutherford Institute, Patrick Cubbage is taking a stand to ensure that all Americans have the right to express their religious beliefs. While he knows how to obey orders, this self-proclaimed warrior also knows what it means to stand and fight for what is right and just.
For three months after being fired, Patrick was unable to find a job. And all during that time, he heard nothing from his former employer. But when the story finally hit the media and officials were flooded with calls and emails, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs issued a press release stating that Patrick could be hired back "subject to a negotiated agreement with the state of New Jersey." So far, however, no agreement has been reached, because New Jersey has not agreed to allow the proper words of ceremony to be said by Patrick and other honor guardsmen.
Meanwhile, Patrick is standing firm on his rights. As he remarked, "Our country was formed because people fled here wanting religious freedom. This country's about freedom of religion, not freedom from religion." And that is what this debate is really all about--do Americans, even those in public office or those attending to mourners at a graveside, have the right to acknowledge God?
Despite the misinformation that so many individuals conveniently seem to propagate, the First Amendment was, and still is, intended to protect the right of all people to express their religious beliefs. Some of our nation's greatest leaders have been of strong faith and moral fiber--not unlike Patrick Cubbage.
And it was these same individuals who saw fit to include a provision within our Constitution preventing governmental restriction of religious belief and expression. It was not religion that these men feared. Rather, they understood the need to ensure that Americans would always have the choice--the freedom--to follow their beliefs, even if it meant openly acknowledging God.
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org
--Patrick Cubbage
Patrick Cubbage, a 54-year-old Vietnam War veteran and evangelical Christian, is the most recent casualty in the misguided dispute over the so-called "separation of church and state"--a controversy that, at times, has consumed our nation.
Patrick was fired from his job as an honor guardsman at a New Jersey veterans memorial cemetery simply for saying "God bless you and this family, and God bless the United States of America." This brief phrase is part of the formal color guard flag ceremony for deceased veterans whose families profess a "religious preference or belief."
The irony is that the language for which Patrick was fired is no different than blessings issued by various political and military leaders on state occasions. For example, in his remarks following the demise of the crew aboard the Columbia space shuttle, President Bush declared, "May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America."
Just as there was nothing wrong with President Bush's words of condolence, there was nothing wrong with the simple blessing Patrick Cubbage uttered. In fact, the Flag Presentation Protocol pamphlet, prepared by the U.S. Department of Defense, provides that honor guardsmen can and should use the same verbiage during graveside ceremonies for religious veterans: "God bless you and this family, and God bless the United States of America."
Patrick Cubbage is no stranger to the military way of life--or the discipline that accompanies it. In 1968, he was drafted into the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the United States Army, where he served as a paratrooper during the Vietnam War. Upon leaving the Army in 1970, Patrick joined the Philadelphia police force and has since worked in a number of capacities with the district attorney's office, the sheriff's office, and on an inter-agency criminal justice commission.
Thus, Patrick Cubbage is a man who understands the richness of tradition and ceremony. For example, he joined the New Jersey National Guard in order to be the first enlisted man to offer the Silver Dollar Salute to his son Adam when he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army. And when, because of an urgent need for military personnel to meet a burgeoning demand for military honors funerals, the New Jersey National Guard asked Patrick to serve as a part-time honor guardsman at Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in North Hanover, New Jersey, he was pleased to accept.
In Patrick's opinion, the position of honor guardsman was another opportunity to serve those in need and provide veterans with a fitting farewell. Over the course of his employment at Doyle, Patrick participated in over 1,000 burial services. Part of his duties as an honor guardsman included presenting a folded American flag to the deceased veteran's family members.
And on those occasions when "the next of kin expressed a religious preference or belief," Patrick followed prescribed protocol and accompanied the presentation of the folded flag with the words of blessing.
However, after a fellow honor guardsman complained, Patrick's supervisor ordered him in mid-October 2002 to stop referring to God. The supervisor felt that it might offend the families of veterans and other honor guardsmen. Patrick reluctantly agreed to use the blessing only if the deceased veteran's next of kin specifically requested that it be included.
Therefore, on October 31, 2002, when the son of a deceased veteran asked that Patrick include the blessing in his graveside presentation, he naturally agreed. Shortly afterwards, a fellow honor guardsman reported the incident and Patrick was fired. The rest, as they say, is history. Or perhaps it is history in the making because, with the help of The Rutherford Institute, Patrick Cubbage is taking a stand to ensure that all Americans have the right to express their religious beliefs. While he knows how to obey orders, this self-proclaimed warrior also knows what it means to stand and fight for what is right and just.
For three months after being fired, Patrick was unable to find a job. And all during that time, he heard nothing from his former employer. But when the story finally hit the media and officials were flooded with calls and emails, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs issued a press release stating that Patrick could be hired back "subject to a negotiated agreement with the state of New Jersey." So far, however, no agreement has been reached, because New Jersey has not agreed to allow the proper words of ceremony to be said by Patrick and other honor guardsmen.
Meanwhile, Patrick is standing firm on his rights. As he remarked, "Our country was formed because people fled here wanting religious freedom. This country's about freedom of religion, not freedom from religion." And that is what this debate is really all about--do Americans, even those in public office or those attending to mourners at a graveside, have the right to acknowledge God?
Despite the misinformation that so many individuals conveniently seem to propagate, the First Amendment was, and still is, intended to protect the right of all people to express their religious beliefs. Some of our nation's greatest leaders have been of strong faith and moral fiber--not unlike Patrick Cubbage.
And it was these same individuals who saw fit to include a provision within our Constitution preventing governmental restriction of religious belief and expression. It was not religion that these men feared. Rather, they understood the need to ensure that Americans would always have the choice--the freedom--to follow their beliefs, even if it meant openly acknowledging God.
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. He can be contacted at johnw@rutherford.org
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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