Community Corner
For Some, Patriotism Has No Off-Season
Bayshore Patriots show support to our troops, country and constitution all year round.
Our country unites in the name of patriotism on observance days, such as the Fourth of July.
We raise our American flags, sing the Star-Spangled Banner and reflect on the nation’s history. The next day, we put the red, white and blue colors away and go back to our everyday lives.
But for some, patriotism has no off-season.
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Each Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Bayshore Patriots stand at Patriots Corner and proudly wave American flags.
Created in the aftermath of 9/11, the grassroots organization has spent the past ten years at the corner of Bayshore Boulevard and Bay to Bay Boulevard—rain or shine, through good and bad times.
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The Patriots even held one of the largest memorial services in the country on the one year anniversary of Sept. 11.
Although the group garnered massive support from the community, responses toward the Patriots have not always been kind.
A few years ago, they were targeted by war protesters even though the Patriots are nonpolitical and strive to support the country, constitution and all those affected by 9/11, starting with the first responders like police officers, firefighters and military personnel.
However, the protests were short-lived and did not dampen the Patriots’ spirit.
Ten years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the country has begun to move on, and public support for the Patriots has waned.
Bayshore Patriot President Bill Hamblin says moving on is a good thing.
“But you don’t want to forget either,” he said.
Hamblin thinks often about 9/11, especially after a memorial was erected at the Patriots Corner last September. It contains a , a beam the Patriots fought for years to get.
“We’re proud of that beam,” says Hamblin. “That’s us right there. That beam stands straight and that’s what we’re doing as a country. Yeah, there’s a little damage, but nothing we can’t overcome.”
And until all of the troops come home, Hamblin and other loyal Patriots will stand next to that beam every Friday afternoon, waving the flag of the country they love and support.
