Heather Nelson Thompson (SANTA FE, Texas) — Little Royce Woodrow Thompson may have been running late for school, but nothing was going to stop him from pledging his allegiance to the United States of America.
As he was about to enter Roy J Wollam Elementary School, he heard the children inside beginning to recite the pledge. Despite the possibility of getting in trouble for being tardy, he stopped dead in his tracks to put his hand over his heart to recite the pledge along with his classmates.
His mother, Heather Nelson Thompson, was confused at first about what her son was doing. But once she realized how patriotic her 5-year-old son was being, she snapped a photo to document the proud moment. The picture has now gone viral with nearly 2,500 shares on Facebook.
“I was like, ‘Royce! Go, go, you’re going to be late!’ It looked like he was looking at his shoes, and I was like, ‘That’s not like Royce. He’s not the type to have an attitude,’” Thompson, of Santa Fe, Texas, told ABC News of her initial confusion. “I didn’t hear the intercom because I had two other kids in the back, and then the officer stopped me and said lightly, ‘He’s good, he’s good. He just said the pledge of allegiance.’”
Thompson isn’t surprised by her son’s touching actions because “he always does the right thing,” she said. “He’s so awesome.”
“It was amazing. Kind of makes you wake up and go, ‘Wow,’” Santa Fe Independent School District officer Cibby Moore told local affiliate KTRK.
People across the country are certainly wowed by the his actions, too. The outpouring of support has blown Thompson away.
“There’s so much doubt in the world right now about love for our country and God and it’s so awesome to see that there’s still so many fans of it all,” said the proud mom. “All of these people are loving him respecting God and the flag, and it’s nice to know they’re on our team.”
When Thompson picked Royce up from school later that day, she couldn’t wait to ask him about his behavior.
“He got in the car and I asked him, ‘What made you do that?’” she recalled. “And he said it just like, ‘Duh mom, that’s what you’re supposed to do.’”
Was Royce penalized for being late?
“Oh, we got that excused, girl!” Thompson laughed.
Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.