From ROLLTIDE.com

Nov. 5, 2009

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Major Andrew McGuire, a 1995 Alabama alumnus and member of the school’s Army ROTC program, donated a United States flag to his alma mater Thursday afternoon.

Major McGuire is currently serving a combat mission for the US Army in Iraq. McGuire serves in the Alpha Troop 1st Battalion’s 230th Cavalry Squadron in Iraq. The flag, which was framed in a glass case with a picture of McGuire and his Kiowa OH58-D aircraft from a July 26, 2009, mission, was presented to Alabama Director of Athletics Mal Moore and the UA Athletic Department. The flag will be displayed in the C.M. Newton Recruiting Room inside Coleman Coliseum.

“Certainly, this is an honor,“ Moore said. “The gentleman that flew the flag is an Alabama fan and that means a lot to me and it means a lot that he would want us to display the flag on our campus. I’ve always been so proud of the military. I was in the Air Force myself. All my family was in the military, so I am from a military family. I recognize the importance to this country to have strength in that area and I hope that we always will. I am very honored to accept this flag.“

McGuire was represented on Thursday by Retired LTC Jim Shivers, the former Professor of Military Science at the University of Alabama, and LTC Jim Shaver, the school’s current Professor of Military Science.

“Andy flew the flag on a combat mission back in July. He flew the plane himself,“ Shivers said in his presentation. “He sent me the flag and I called Colonel Shaver, the current PMS here at Alabama, and he was very helpful in coordinating this with the Athletic Department, so we brought it down today to Coach Moore and the Athletic Department on behalf of all graduates who have served, or are currently serving, in the U.S. Armed Forces, and particularly the U.S. Army and National Guard.“

“As the Professor of Military Science at the University of Alabama, we get great support from the University in all the things we do as we train and prepare our young men and women that go to school here to be commissioned officers in the US Army,“ Shaver said. “This is just another sign of how the University appreciates the military and supports the military and allowing us to present this flag today. It’s a testament to how much pride this University has in this country and the flag itself in our military. With Veterans Day coming up next week, the timing is just perfect.“

Both Moore and Shivers were equally proud this event took place so close to Veterans Day. In 2000, Moore began the tradition of presenting veterans with a U.S. flag to prior to home football games.

“That is something that I felt was an opportunity for us to recognize the service of individuals to this country,“ Moore said. “We’ve had several Medal of Honor winners. We honored a judge here that I have known a long time, Judge Conrad Fowler. We recruited his son that played receiver for us. What a great fan Judge Fowler was, and I did not know until he was in his 80s that he fought on Iwo Jima. I was proud that we could honor him.“

“As a veteran and graduate of the University of Alabama, I am very proud of my time here as a student and as a member of the faculty,“ Shivers added. “I am also very proud of my time and service in the U.S. Army. It has a double meaning to me, with Veterans Day coming up, and the University in the national championship hunt, we are `all in’ with the football team. We are very, very proud of them.“