Navy SEAL climbs flagpole to fix American flag in viral video
A video of a Navy SEAL climbing a flagpole in order to fix a wayward American flag has gone viral, and the sign of respect isn't just touching viewers — the SEAL who climbed the flagpole says that he had to “give it my all” for those who sacrificed their lives for their country.
As Navy SEAL Dom Raso was hitting the 3.5-mile mark of his run at the oceanfront of Virginia Beach, Va., he noticed that the American flag at the Navy SEAL monument had broken free from its pole.
"I couldn’t go by this flag this morning and not give it everything I had," Raso wrote on Facebook on Thursday. "The gold stars on this monument and the sacrifice that has been made for all us was something I wasn’t just going to pass by."
Raso shared that he attempted to climb the flagpole to fix the flag three times, but he didn’t let the challenge deter him.
"This was my 4th attempt at trying to get up and fix the flag," Raso said. "Literally had to visualize what I was doing wrong and what I had to do to correct my inefficiencies in order to improve for the next attempt."
During his fourth attempt, Raso got help from his friend, Brian Anthony, and can be seen taking his time, analyzing his next step, and, ultimately, reaching the top of the flagpole. There, he reached for the flag, tied it back to the pole, and then made his way down.
"This flag pole climb reminded me about EVERYTHING in life," Raso wrote. "Once I do try I have to give it my ALL for them. If I fail...honor them by trying one more time and get better every time I do it."
While Raso did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment, he wrote in a follow-up post on Friday, "As long as this country continues to have great men and women willing to step up to do what is right, we will always prevail... The greatest way to live is by our actions. EVERY SINGLE DAY we are given an opportunity... I would have to say my favorite part of the day given that [the] video has started to go viral, is the woman I had the pleasure to meet that simply said 'God bless you.'"
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