If you're looking to bolster your increasingly-laughable claim that you're a veteran, you're doing it wrong.
Better men and women than you died for that flag.
What does the flag have to do with me being retired military. I didn't join because of the flag. My ID, retirement pay and DD-214 bolster my claim.
I didn't join because of the flag either. I was a 17 year old kid working in the stockyards of Montana and going to school, and when I was around 17 1/2, my Grandparents came in and told me that they were going to break my plate (kick me out) when I turned 18.
I thought to myself, where could I go that would be decent pay with good health care and start out at entry level, without worrying much about getting hired? The answer came to me in the form of the military.
I didn't join the Air Force, because there was a base in my hometown, and I didn't much care for them.
Didn't join the Army, because although camping as a hobby was good, as a lifestyle it kinda left a bit to be desired.
Didn't join the Marines because I didn't want to become a bullet sponge, and I knew that Marines were generally the first ones in a hot war zone.
However.............the Navy offered me the chance to travel (49 different states and 26 different countries), as well as allowed me to bring my house with me, so I didn't have to camp out or go without A/C when I was in desert areas.
Why did I join the military? Security for myself, and I also knew it would make my Grandparents proud of me. Never saw them beam with pride so much as the day I came home with an enlistment contract.
3 days after my 18th birthday? I was sitting in Orlando FL, wondering what kind of mess I'd just gotten into.
20 years later? I'm happy about my service and proud of my flag, but also, as a military man, I understand that we have a right to free speech. If you want to burn the flag, go ahead (it's free speech after all), but you better be prepared for my response.