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Freeper Canteen ~ Flag Day ~ June 14, 2004
Canteen Crew

Posted on 06/13/2004 8:06:37 PM PDT by StarCMC

 
 
For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday...
Thank the Veterans who served in
The United States Armed Forces.
 
 
Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom?
Support The United States Armed Forces Today!
 
 

 

 
   

 Flag Day

June 14, 2004

   

 

I am the flag of the United States of America

I was born on June 14, 1777, in Philadelphia.

There the Continental Congress adopted my stars and stripes as the national flag.

My thirteen stripes alternating red and white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.

Today fifty stars signal from my union, one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known.

My colors symbolize the patriotic ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.

My red stripes proclaim the fearless courage and integrity of American men and boys and the self-sacrifice and devotion of American mothers and daughters.

My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.

My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.

I represent these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.

I embody American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.

I typify that indomitable spirit of determination brought to my land by Christopher Columbus and by all my forefathers - the Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at James town and Plymouth.

I am as old as my nation.

I am a living symbol of my nation's law: the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

I voice Abraham Lincoln's philosophy: "A government of the people, by the people,for the people."

I stand guard over my nation's schools, the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.

I am displayed in every schoolroom throughout my nation; every schoolyard has a flag pole for my display.

Daily thousands upon thousands of boys and girls pledge their allegiance to me and my country.

I have my own law—Public Law 829, "The Flag Code" - which definitely states my correct use and display for all occasions and situations.

I have my special day, Flag Day. June 14 is set aside to honor my birth.

Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow.

I am your title deed of freedom, which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.

If you fail to keep this sacred trust inviolate, if I am nullified and destroyed, you and your children will become slaves to dictators and despots.

Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom.

As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are - no more, no less.

Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth.

Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I was created in freedom. I made my first appearance in a battle for human liberty.

God grant that I may spend eternity in my "land of the free and the home of the brave" and that I shall ever be known as "Old Glory," the flag of the United States of America.

Click the pics for music - mouse over for titles!

               

 

 

History of Flag Day

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.

Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.

Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.

In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.

Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary if the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

To learn about Flag Etiquette, click the Flag.

Click for Flag Etiquette

 

 

Flag Folding

 

As an Army and Navy custom, the flag is lowered daily at the last note of retreat. Special care should be taken that no part of the flag touches the ground. The Flag is then carefully folded into the shape of a tri-cornered hat, emblematic of the hats worn by colonial soldiers during the war for Independence. In the folding, the red and white stripes are finally wrapped into the blue, as the light of day vanishes into the darkness of night.

This custom of special folding is reserved for the United States Flag alone.

 

How to fold the Flag

Step 1

To properly fold the Flag, begin by holding it waist-high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground.

 


Step 2

Fold the lower half of the stripe section lengthwise over the field of stars, holding the bottom and top edges securely.

 


Step 3

Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue field on the outside.

 


Step 4

Make a triangular fold by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to meet the open (top) edge of the flag.


Step 5

Turn the outer (end) point inward, parallel to the open edge, to form a second triangle.

 


Step 6

The triangular folding is continued until the entire length of the flag is folded in this manner.

 


Step 7

When the flag is completely folded, only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible.

 

 

 

Flag Trivia

Q. Who cut the American flag into pieces and was honored for doing it?
A. Robert Peary, who left pieces of the flag scattered at the North Pole.

Q. Is it ever appropriate to fly the flag upside down?
A. Yes, but only in an emergency. It means "Help Me, I am in Trouble!"

Q. What is done with worn or outdated flags?
A. Flags are used until they are worn out and then they are destroyed, preferably by burning.

Q. Francis Scott Key wrote the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the back on an envelope. What is the source of the music for it?
A. The music is from an old English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven."

Q. The American flag first flew over a foreign fort in what country?
A. Libya -- over Fort Derne, on the shores of Tripoli.

Q. A vexillologist is an expert in what?
A. The history of flags.

Q. "Shipwreck" Kelly (1885-1952) was famous for sitting for long periods of time. What did he have to do with flags?
A. He set many flagpole-sitting records. He sat for 49 days on one flagpole. He once estimated that he spent a total of over 20,000 hours sitting on flagpoles. Flagpole sitting was a craze started in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1929.

 

 

 

Click the pics for music - mouse over for titles!

Stars And Stripes Forever        Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Fly        Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (Angry American)

 

 

 

 

 
 
 


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; History; Humor; Military/Veterans; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: airforce; army; canteen; coastguard; marines; military; nationalguard; navy; supportthetroops
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To: HiJinx

Hi Jinxie!! Thanks!

I'm glad you got to see your mom!

HUGS!


21 posted on 06/13/2004 8:31:59 PM PDT by StarCMC (Please pray for the 2/7 Marines and Josh.)
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To: HiJinx

Not you!! LOL!

How is your Mom?

How are you?

MOST IMPORTANTLY, HOW IS PIPER?

Did you get your mail yet? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?


22 posted on 06/13/2004 8:32:00 PM PDT by MoJo2001 ("You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong" ---Abraham Lincoln & Ronald Reagan)
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To: Old Sarge

Good night Sarge, nice to see you for a bit.


23 posted on 06/13/2004 8:32:50 PM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: MoJo2001

Thank you MoJo!!


24 posted on 06/13/2004 8:33:12 PM PDT by StarCMC (Please pray for the 2/7 Marines and Josh.)
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

You're welcome --it was a fun one -- and aren't MoJo's graphics perfect??? I LOVE that frame!


25 posted on 06/13/2004 8:34:14 PM PDT by StarCMC (Please pray for the 2/7 Marines and Josh.)
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To: HiJinx; Hondo1952
"Today is also the 229th Birthday of the United States Army."


Happy Birthday Brothers!
26 posted on 06/13/2004 8:37:13 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (Have you said Thank You to a service man or woman today?)
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To: StarCMC

Wonderful work on today's thread, Star!!! (I still marvel at all you're able to get done!)


27 posted on 06/13/2004 8:37:38 PM PDT by Fawnn (Canteen wOOhOO Consultant and CookingWithPam.com person)
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To: HiJinx

I saw that on my VFW calendar!


28 posted on 06/13/2004 8:40:31 PM PDT by StarCMC (Please pray for the 2/7 Marines and Josh.)
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To: Old Sarge

Have a great night Sarge and we'll see ya tomorrow! HUGS!!


29 posted on 06/13/2004 8:41:24 PM PDT by StarCMC (Please pray for the 2/7 Marines and Josh.)
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To: MoJo2001; tomkow6; Kathy in Alaska; bentfeather; Brad's Gramma

Wow, inquisitive little Auntie, aren't you? Let's see, where to begin? Grandma is doing great! She now has a life jacket so she can go into the pool without needing a whole lot of people to help her. She is still wearing that awful tube in her throat, but she can eat solid food and she talks to us with a special valve, and she has a whole lot of nurses and other people (like Poppa's Sister) taking good care of her 24/7. She's not in that Nursing Home where she only got seen once or twice an hour. I know she got decent care, but they're just not set up for one-on-one care, you know?

Poppa is doing well. He told us kids not to get him anything for Father's Day, but I think we're going to surprise him. Remember that day we went to the beach with his gold card? Shhhhhh.....

Mail? Do I have mail? I haven't received it yet...the mail man must be slow because of President Reagan's funeral on Friday. I can't believe some people are upset about not getting any mail. Good grief, Charlie Brown, get over it! It's not like those boys and girls in the Service who have to wait, like, for a month before they get packages, right? Poppa says we have to put things in perspective, whatever that means!!!

So, anyway, what am I looking for, Auntie Mojo? Did you send me a pony? Or a whole new wardrobe? Or perhaps a new car? Daddy says I don't need a new car yet, I can't drive. Will you teach me how to drive when I'm old enough? Uncle Tomkow says you're a really good driving instructor!!!

~ Piper

30 posted on 06/13/2004 8:43:09 PM PDT by HiJinx (Go with courage, go with honor, go in God's good Grace. Come home when it's time. We'll be here.)
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To: Fawnn

Yeah - I'm a regular Wonder Woman! LOL!!!

(You wanna come do my dishes?? He he he!!)


31 posted on 06/13/2004 8:45:15 PM PDT by StarCMC (Please pray for the 2/7 Marines and Josh.)
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To: armyboy; Arrowhead1952; kjfine; txradioguy; Old Sarge
Click on the banner!




32 posted on 06/13/2004 8:45:42 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (Happy Birthday US Army!)
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To: HiJinx

Dear Piper,

I'm glad your grandma is at home being taken care of. It's always better for grandma to be at home with those that love her a lot. Besides, how is she supposed to watch you grow up? I'm glad you'll have the opportunity to see her.

As for Father's Day, I have to be a little sappy about this one. I think your Poppa will agree that you are probably one of the best Father's Day gift he has. You are absolutely priceless. So? Remember that. (Um, if you wanna send the gold card to Auntie MoJo..you can. LOL!)

As for the mail people, I mailed it from the ghetto. What can we say? I'll tell you more about that when you get older.

As for driving lessons, OF COURSE I'LL TEACH YOU HOW TO DRIVE. Why wouldn't I? You get special VIP privileges. So?? We'll go car shopping in the future. How about tomororw? LOL!

*HUGS*
Auntie MoJo


33 posted on 06/13/2004 8:48:00 PM PDT by MoJo2001 ("You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong" ---Abraham Lincoln & Ronald Reagan)
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To: HiJinx

ROFLOL!! Excellent work Jinxie!! I mean Piper!!


34 posted on 06/13/2004 8:49:46 PM PDT by StarCMC (Please pray for the 2/7 Marines and Josh.)
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To: HiJinx

Hi Piper and Poppa!!!

That's so much for the Piper's Peeps. Glad to hear Grandma is doing well.

Piper is looking charming as usual.

Oh Jinx, that's for the Credit Card for Friday's madness.


35 posted on 06/13/2004 8:50:57 PM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: StarCMC

September

Click



Artist: Earth, Wind, And Fire
Song: September
Lyrics: Lyricsfreaks.com

 

Do you remember the 21st night of september?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away

Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing.
As we danced in the night,
Remember how the stars stole the night away

Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in september
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day

My thoughts are with you
Holding hands with your heart to see you
Only blue talk and love,
Remember how we knew love was here to stay

Now december found the love that we shared in september.
Only blue talk and love,
Remember the true love we share today

Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in september
Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day

Ba de ya - say do you remember
Ba de ya - dancing in september
Ba de ya - golden dreams were shiny days

36 posted on 06/13/2004 8:51:23 PM PDT by MoJo2001 ("You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong" ---Abraham Lincoln & Ronald Reagan)
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

Happy Birthday ARMY!! WooHoo!!

*HUGS* Mr.Tonkin for letting everyone know!!

How are you this evening?


37 posted on 06/13/2004 8:52:04 PM PDT by MoJo2001 ("You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong" ---Abraham Lincoln & Ronald Reagan)
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To: HiJinx

Boy oh boy, Piper, you are getting so big. Has your Daddy or Poppa taken you swimming in Poppa's pool yet? I'll bet they already got you some water wings. And I know you have a really neat ring to sit in. Are you practicing going under water? Doesn't hurt a bit, just be sure to spit the water out. Your Daddy and Poppa ARE teaching you to spit, right??


38 posted on 06/13/2004 8:53:14 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: StarCMC
(You wanna come do my dishes?? He he he!!)

When the MBABGDITW#1 was around 2 and in her "standing on a chair at the sink, pouring water between cups -- doing the dishes" phase, she stepped down from the chair for a minute. During that time, I walked over to the sink to wash my hands.

The MBABGDITW#1 started to cry.

My daughter asked her, "What's wrong?"

MBABGDITW#1: "Gramma's gonna do my dishes!"

Daughter: "You don't yet know your gramma very well, do you?"

(That answer your question? LOL)
39 posted on 06/13/2004 8:53:41 PM PDT by Fawnn (Canteen wOOhOO Consultant and CookingWithPam.com person)
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To: StarCMC; All

June 14, 2004: FLAG DAY: "I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE" -Commentary by Cindy Furnare

June 14, 2004: FLAG DAY

June 14, 2004: "229TH BIRTHDAY OF THE U.S. ARMY"

40 posted on 06/13/2004 8:54:32 PM PDT by Cindy
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