Country singer Neal McCoy joined the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets in their Tuesday morning formation to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, where the Corps surprised McCoy with a flag to honor his father, who died last month.
McCoy has become known for reciting the pledge of allegiance everyday on Facebook Live and has done so for more than 400 mornings in a row.  McCoy’s publicist recently reached out to Amy Smith, A&M’s senior vice president and communication to see if the Corps would be interested in having McCoy join them for the pledge. After agreeing to host the event, the Corps decided to surprise McCoy and his siblings with flags which have flown over A&M in honor of his recently deceased father, who was an A&M graduate.
In a brief speech, McCoy said he has always loved A&M even though he never attended, and is thankful for the kindness the Aggie family extended to him.
“I’m speechless. This is overwhelming,” McCoy said. “My daughter, my brother, sister, brother-in-law and our dad who passed away about three weeks ago graduated here, all different years. And I have bled maroon for years, I was the black sheep that didn’t attend here. I went out and tried a singing career and some people said I did okay, I say the jury’s still out. What a magnificent morning, what an honor to be here”
Neal’s father, Hubert McGaughey, Class of 1952, died March 25. To honor the memory of McCoy’s father, the Corps presented McCoy and his two siblings with flags which flew over A&M.
“He loved A&M. He loved that time in his life probably more than any other time in his life,” McCoy said. “Between graduating, being here at Texas A&M and his time in the army, these were times that he talked about his entire life, and he was talking about them up till his death so it’s an honor for us to be here and to see this and for them to present the flags in his honor.”
McCoy said he was impressed by the Corps and their dedication to carrying on the many traditions at A&M.
“Oh just squared away. This is what I try and preach to people that don’t know anything about Texas A&M are their traditions,” McCoy said. “And coming down here and getting to see these kids all suited up. I just can’t tell you. These are kids that are going to be leading our country someday and it’s just the greatest stuff.”
General Joe Ramirez, Corps Commandant said he was honored to have Neal McCoy present for the Pledge of Allegiance.
“I think it’s an honor for us to be a part of this ceremony and the fact that he’s chosen to do this, say the pledge of allegiance every morning,” Ramirez said. “To be a part of that for us is very special.”
McCoy said he was inspired to begin broadcasting his daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance as a way to honor the values his parents instilled in him.
“My mother’s from the Phillipines and my father was in the army, and she always instilled in us kids, ‘You know you ought to be thankful for the freedom that you have in this country because most other countries are not like this,’” McCoy said. “So I just started thinking about it as you get older you start to have kids and grandkids and you start to reflect a little more and I thought ‘Well the least I can do is say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday and let folks know where I stand on our country.”
Engineering freshman Blake Watson said he admired McCoy’s daily commitment to reciting the pledge.
“I thought it was great to get to honor a man who is so patriotic and to honor his family, and especially his dad who just passed away,” Watson said. “It was a great opportunity for us to give back to him and it was really cool to present him the flags.”
Watch McCoy reciting the Pledge of Allegiance below.