I see that the old flagpole still stands. Have your troops hoist the colors to its peak, and let no enemy ever haul them down.

The line evokes a commander’s instinct to turn a physical remnant—the “old flagpole”—into a symbol of continuity, legitimacy, and resolve. By ordering the colors raised and never lowered, MacArthur (as the quote is commonly attributed) frames victory not merely as territorial control but as the restoration and permanent assertion of authority. The flag becomes a metonym for national honor and the morale of troops: to hoist it is to declare presence; to prevent its removal is to pledge endurance. The rhetoric is deliberately ceremonial and absolute, aiming to bind soldiers to a mission larger than immediate tactics.