Flag Day

Quote of the Day–Flag Day

You’re a grand old flag,
You’re a high-flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You’re the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev’ry heart beats true
‘Neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there’s never a boast or brag.
But should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

Flag Day

From The American Patriot’s Almanac:

“On June 14, 1777, during the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official national flag.

‘Resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.’

Congress gave no further instruction as to exactly what the flag should look like, such as its dimensions or how the stars should be arranged. Consequently, early U.S. flags did not all look alike. Some flags had stars with six points, others with eight. Some flag makers sewed the stars in rows on the blue field, others in a circle or scattered without an organized pattern.

The first official, widespread observance of the flag’s birthday came on June 14, 1877, when the flag was one hundred years old. Over the next several years, many schools, veterans groups, and patriotic societies turned the day into a yearly celebration. Mayors and governors began to issue proclamations calling for parades and patriotic events on June 14.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson established Flag Day as an annual national celebration. In 1949 Congress and President Truman officially made June 14 a permanent yearly observance.

Quote of the Day–Flag Day

“This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours. It floats in majestic silence above the hosts that execute those choices, whether in peace or in war. And yet, though silent, it speaks to us–speaks to us of the past, of the men and women who went before us, and of the records they wrote upon it…From its birth until now it has witnessed a great history, has floated on high the symbol of great events, of a great plan of life worked out by a great people.” Woodrow Wilson, June 1917

“You’re a grand old flag,
You’re a high-flying flag,
And forever in peace, may you wave;
You’re the emblem of
The land I love,
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev’ry heart beats true
‘Neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there’s never a boast or a brag;
But, should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.”