The U.S. Navy has launched an investigation into the case of a sailor who didn’t salute as the National Anthem played during a recent morning flag-raising at Pearl Harbor, an official said Tuesday.
(FOX)- U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Senior Chief Petty Officer Joel Cesar said it’s up to the sailor’s commander whether she faces any punishment for failing to salute the flag on Sept. 19.
The sailor under investigation is Petty Officer 2nd Class Janaye Ervin, an intelligence specialist in the Navy Reserve. She was recently in Hawaii for about two weeks for an exercise. She’s assigned to the Navy Operational Support Center at North Island, Calif.
Ervin had explained her actions in a since-deleted Facebook book.
“I feel like a hypocrite singing about the ‘land of the free’ when I know that only applies to some Americans,” she wrote. “I will gladly stand again, when ALL AMERICANS are afforded the same freedom.”
The sailor’s failure to salute comes after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick received national attention when he refused to stand for the anthem before NFL preseason games earlier this year. He cited racial injustice and police brutality among the reasons for his actions.
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