Flag Day is Tuesday, June 14th

Whether you refer to it as Old Glory, the Stars and Stripes or the Red, White, and Blue, Americans know you mean their country’s flag. Tuesday is Flag Day, which commemorates its birth on June 14, 1777.

On that date the Continental Congress resolved that the new flag would have 13 stripes in alternate red and white and 13 white stars on a blue field to represent a new constellation–the United States of America.

When asked why we should fly the flag on Tuesday, Kasey Avery responded, “We should be proud of this country we’re in. And we should think of our troops.” (Avery’s boyfriend is in Iraq until next March.)

The idea of a day to celebrate the flag originated in 1885 with a schoolteacher named B. J. Cigrand. He had Wisconsin school children observe June 14 as Flag Birthday because it was the 108th anniversary of the adoption of their flag. Over the next thirty years many local and state celebrations were held on that date.

In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed Flag Day as the anniversary of the original Flag Resolution of 1777. Still, it took an Act of Congress signed by President Harry Truman in 1949 to designate June 14 of each year as National Flag Day.

We see the American flag flying over government buildings and outside homes.

Did you know?
· the flag flown upside down signifies an emergency
· the only person honored for cutting up the flag was explorer Robert Peary who left pieces scattered at the North Pole
· the flag has its own Public Law 829 which defines its correct use and display
· dilapidated or faded flags are to be destroyed in a dignified manner, usually by burning (Many American Legion posts hold flag burning ceremonies on Flag Day.)
· in 1912 Arizona became the 48th star on the flag

June 14 is our flag’s birthday. Fly the 13 stripes and 50 stars proudly. The American flag is 228 years old, and it continues to wave over a free land.

The American Flag celebrates its 228th birthday on Tuesday.

Kasey Avery

Kyle Taylor replied, “We should fly the flag so we can remember why we are free in America.”

Kyle “Mijo” Taylor

Donna Higgs didn’t even have to think about her answer. “It’s especially for our veterans and those fighting in Iraq. We need to be together in our country for patriotism. I will certainly be flying my flag,” she added.

Donna Higgs