Countywide : A Heartfelt ‘Pledge of Allegiance’

As the choir sang “This is My Country,” a cannon boomed in the background, white doves were released and red, white and blue confetti rained down the stage.

From the sides and back of the stage, fireworks exploded, sending a cascade of multicolored sparks as children shrieked in delight.

It was typical Disneyland hoopla Friday as the theme park played host to a “Pledge of Allegiance” ceremony. More than 1,000 fifth-graders from all over Southern California participated in the 20-minute ceremony that featured a dramatic recitation of the pledge by four students and actor Edward James Olmos.

The pageant, organized by Celebration U.S.A., a private group, was held simultaneously in many schools throughout the country to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

Francis Bellamy wrote the pledge in 1892 for the National School Celebration to honor the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World in 1492.

Since then, the pledge has become a fixture of the annual National School Celebration, according to Paula Burton, a teacher from the Orange Unified School District, who helped coordinate the ceremony.

In a message read by Orange County School Supt. John F. Dean, President Bush said: “Each time you recite the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ you renew the commitment to freedom that unites us as one people.”

“We have every reason to be proud of this great country. It has served as a force for good in the world, and I commend each of you for your patriotism,” the President said in his message.

Similar ceremonies will be held throughout Orange County. On Monday, for instance, more than a thousand students from the Orange Unified School District and elsewhere will participate in a patriotic pageant at Fred Kelly Stadium, 3920 Spring St., Orange, starting at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Disneyland put its best foot forward for Friday’s event. Town Square on Main Street was festooned with patriotic bunting and American flags.

The ceremonies opened with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, garbed in “Spirit of ‘76” costumes, leading a parade that included a military honor guard and students from Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties.

Olmos, who is among those credited for helping start reconstruction in the wake of the Los Angeles riots in April, said the ceremony was a party for the pledge and for “ourselves.”

“You see, the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ pays tribute to the flag, and the flag represents the United States of America. It is a glorious symbol of what we have been, what we are, and what we will yet become,” he said.

Four students alternately recited the pledge. They are Marianne Davis, 10, Darian McCraw, 8, and Olga Sanchez, 10, all of Orange; and Damon Gohata, 10, of Garden Grove.

At the end of the pledge, however, they said they were more excited about the fireworks and the chance to enjoy Disneyland for the rest of the day.

“It was very exciting, but the fireworks scared me,” Davis said.

Gohata, an Asian-American, said the pledge has a special meaning to him because it says, “We’re one nation.”

“We’re all Americans, and that’s what matters,” he said.

Sanchez said the event was exciting, but her mother, Gloria, who speaks very little English, was nervous. “Very happy . . . but very nervous,” the mother said.