Wikipedia is not quite correct in its chronology of the pledge, . . . at least from my experience. I began the first grade in the fall of 1941, and the pledge of allegiance was recited with our right arm extended, palm-down. This continued until sometime after the U.S. entry into World War II, when the pledge was recited as Wikipedia described it, with the palm turned upward. I don’t know if our teacher told us the reason for the change, or if kids – being brighter than adults give them credit for being – figured out that the change occurred so that we would not appear to be emulating the Nazis. But prior to Pearl Harbor, the palm-down, extended-arm salute was the officially prescribed form at Prescott School in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Best of Butler Shaffer