Boy's Patriotic Improv Goes Viral; 4.5 Million+ YouTube Views

Millions and millions of people have been watching a junior high school gymnasium video on YouTube this week after one eighth-grader's quick-thinking response to disaster turned a "fail" into a heartwarming patriotic display.

At the Eisenhower Junior High School Red/White Concert on the evening of Saturday, May 18, cymbal player Andrew Pawelczyk, 13, was performing the national anthem when the strap on his right cymbal broke and the instrument went clattering to the gym floor.

After a moment's confusion—spoiler alert, you should really watch above first—Pawelczyk turned to the color guard and saluted the American flag as his bandmates finished the anthem.

"I was just shocked," Pawelczyk told the Chicago Tribune. "I thought in my head, 'Should I run and get another one?' I decided to salute the flag."

When footage hit YouTube, his split-second decision won him viral-video fame, with the clip being shared on every corner of the Internet. The video earned a spot in a Jimmy Fallon monologue on "Late Night." Pawelczyk sat for a WGN interview that can be seen here on the Huffington Post.

And the accolades for Pawelczyk's salute can be found across the Internet. Just one example: "This is how you recover from an embarrassing moment!" news site Gawker tweeted, calling it "graceful," a "beautiful recovery" and a "master class in recovery from embarrassment."

What are your thoughts about what this young boy did during his brief mishap? Share your comments below.

This article first appeared on Darien Patch