Our nation is in the middle of what could be called flag season.
Starting with Memorial Day and continuing through Independence Day celebrations on the Fourth of July, our Star Spangled Banner is displayed in parades, decorates veterans’ graves or hangs on poles outside citizens’ homes.
When President Woodrow Wilson led the first formal nationwide observance of Flag Day on June 14, 1917, U.S. soldiers were fighting World War I. After patriotism surged during recruitment of troops for that conflict, President Wilson chose to honor the flag with national ceremonies. President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress on Aug. 3, 1949 that designated every June 14 as National Flag Day.
Today’s flag, with 50 white stars on a blue canton and 13 stripes, represents our growth from 13 separate colonies to the United States of America, a country with a representative government, constitution and bill of rights. During the 1800s, veterans’ groups and school children held informal observances of our flag’s birthday.
Today, school children pledge allegiance to the flag. When military veterans are buried, the flag is draped over their coffin during the funeral.
Whether the flag is raised or lowered to half-mast depends on the joy or solemnity of the occasion. Olympic athletes who win medals watch as Old Glory is raised while they stand on the winner’s platform. Many athletic competitions begin with the singing of our national anthem while audience members and television cameras focus on the flag. After gunman Adam Lanza shot his mother, then murdered 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook School in New Town, Conn. last December, flags on poles at government buildings were lowered to half mast to signify the nation’s grief.
The flag also serves as a symbol of strength and unity. Eight hours after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, three firefighters took a flag from a nearby yacht and raised it over Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan. The memorable picture was captured by photographer Thomas E. Franklin.
Afterward, flags began to appear on every Main Street in the country and on many automobiles. It is impossible to describe the entire range of emotions Americans feel when they see their flag flying high. Perhaps an anonymous person said it best in this quotation:
“The whole inspiration of our life as a nation flows out from the waving folds of this banner.”
