Darien Boy's Patriotic Improv Goes Viral; 5 Million+ YouTube Views

Millions and millions of people are watching Darien's Eisenhower Junior High School gymnasium on YouTube this week after one eighth-grader's quick-thinking response to disaster turned a "fail" into a heartwarming patriotic display.

At Eisenhower's 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. District 61 posted a link to a piece on CNN on the official District page. 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."

"I had no idea that it would touch so many people," Pawelczyk's mom Heidi told the Tribune. "They want to know that there are still young people who respect our flag and our country. You never know how one small act can affect people. I think he's made a difference."

Pawelczyk practices his percussion daily and plans to perform for the Downers Grove South Mustangs drumline, the paper said.

His overall takeaway? As Andrew told the Sun-Times: "get better cymbals."