{"id":1683,"date":"2013-06-17T10:01:34","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T10:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1683"},"modified":"2014-12-24T17:27:04","modified_gmt":"2014-12-24T17:27:04","slug":"pittsburgh-and-old-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/06\/17\/pittsburgh-and-old-glory\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh and Old Glory"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"John <\/a>
John Spudick displays a new flag at his East Street gas station. (Circa 1955 photo by Robert Dick) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Students <\/a>
Students at Martin Luther King Jr. School on the North Side pledge their allegiance. (Pittsburgh Press photo by Gilbert Love) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Alverna <\/a>
Alverna Hoover of Etna displays a portrait of late Navy Mothers commander during a North Side Flag Day ceremony in 1991. (Pittsburgh Press photo by Pat Davison) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Family <\/a>
Family members of those who perished aboard United Flight 93 visit the impact site near Shanksville in 2004. (Post-Gazette photo by Steve Mellon) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Flag <\/a>
Flag day parade on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh, circa 1930. In background is the Wabash Building, demolished in 1954. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Our nation is in the middle of what could be called flag season.<\/p>\n

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\u2019 graves or hangs on poles outside citizens\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n

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,\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s 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\u2019 groups and school children held informal observances of our flag\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n

Today, school children pledge allegiance to the flag. When military veterans are buried, the flag is draped over their coffin during the funeral.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s grief.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole inspiration of our life as a nation flows out from the waving folds of this banner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our nation is in the middle of what could be called flag season.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesPittsburgh and Old Glory<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[946],"tags":[982,1280,1269,1018,1033],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tumblr_moeajrSHfZ1rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C1424&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":712,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/04\/30\/2006-the-august-wilson-center-being-built\/","url_meta":{"origin":1683,"position":0},"title":"The August Wilson Center being built","date":"April 30, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The August Wilson Center for African American Culture isn\u2019t quite a 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