Christmas Day 1973 found my family at my grandparents’ house in Fullerton, California. Of the gifts I received that morning, there is but one still among my keepsakes today — an American flag.

My grandmother had requested the flag through her congressional representative, and it had been flown over the U.S. Capitol before it was boxed up and presented to me.

I have treasured those colors since then, honoring and displaying them on holidays and teaching my children to do the same. In the meantime, I served from 1988 to 2014 in the U.S. Army and Utah National Guard and deployed twice in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

When I enlisted, I took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” In Article II, Section 2, the

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