Swampscott woman upset over version of Pledge of Allegiance

SWAMPSCOTT – A town resident said a Swampscott High School grad should be held accountable after omitting the phrase “under God” while leading the graduation in the Pledge of Allegiance on Sunday.Joanne van der Burg, executive assistant to Superintendent Lynne Celli, said the student, whom she would not identify, left the phrase out by mistake.?They just got flustered,” said van der Burg on Monday afternoon. “They looked to the flag and lost track of her words. It was not an on-purpose thing.”Van der Burg said the office had received calls and emails, but not complaints, inquiring why the words had been removed. She added that the School Committee begins every meeting with the full pledge.Swampscott resident Eileen Abbruzzese said she doesn?t buy it.?How can you make a mistake like that in this day in age?” said Abbruzzese on Monday. “You don?t leave something out something as important as that as a senior in high school.”Abbruzzese said she was not present at the graduation but heard about the omission on a Boston talk radio show Monday morning and was “horrified” about the incident and that her calls to Celli had not been returned.?This is America, and I think this is just wrong,” said Abbruzzese. “Someone should be responsible for it.”The phrase “under God” was not written in the original version of the Pledge of Allegiance, but was added in 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower in response to the threat of Communism, according to ushistory.org, the website of the Independence Hall Association, a nonprofit established during World War II to establish a national park in Philadelphia.The pledge was written by a socialist minister, Francis Bellamy, in 1892, who originally intended it to be used by citizens of any country. It made no specific reference to the United States until it was altered in 1923.Its present form, with “under God,” is now in the U.S. Flag Code, a set of laws that govern the display of the U.S. flag.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].