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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: USVet6792Retired; All

No. 17 is a par 5 because of the land mines The Kabul Golf Club in Bandi Qargha, Afghanistan, has brown fairways, black greens and hazards golfers will never forget.

401 posted on 06/14/2004 6:05:13 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity

Wonderful pictures, EMB. Lots of kleenex needed in the last few days.


402 posted on 06/14/2004 6:11:30 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
Thank you, Kathy, for your kind words.

The honor to serve our country was all mine.

Semper Fidelis

403 posted on 06/14/2004 6:13:14 PM PDT by Chieftain (To all who serve and support those who serve - thank you!)
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To: MeekOneGOP

Meekie, you are so bad!!! That unveiling is too funny. I love it.


404 posted on 06/14/2004 6:15:28 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: tomkow6; kjfine; StarCMC; Spotsy; 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub

Home field advantage: Cardinals outfielder Jim Edmonds was trying to snag a fly off the bat of the Cubs' Aramis Ramirez when Wrigley Field's center field ivy snagged him.

405 posted on 06/14/2004 6:30:32 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: TexasCowboy; bentfeather; Colonel_Flagg; StarCMC; Lady Jag; Old Sarge; HopeandGlory; All

Ernest Tubb ~ Waltz Across Texas

406 posted on 06/14/2004 6:34:24 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: tomkow6; All

The perfect pet for the whole family: Three thousand crocodiles seized from a drug dealer will be auctioned off at a croc farm in Ayutthaya province, Thailand. Prices range from $12 to $85 each.

407 posted on 06/14/2004 6:38:55 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
Good! Maybe they can take down these signs now.


408 posted on 06/14/2004 6:41:32 PM PDT by Lady Jag (Used to be sciencediet but found the solution)
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To: All

Bridge over water trouble: Chris Bevin (bottom left) and Joe Mozer hang on to young Tyler Buckmeir as he clings to a bridge pier in the swollen Cascade Creek in Rochester, Minn. The two men jumped into the fast-moving water to help when they saw the boy in distress. Rescuers were able to pull all three to safety.

409 posted on 06/14/2004 6:42:07 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Ms.Poohbear; MS.BEHAVIN; All

Breaking and entering: This "squirrel-proof" birdfeeder in North Waterboro, Maine, isn't as good as advertised.

410 posted on 06/14/2004 6:45:53 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Spotsy

411 posted on 06/14/2004 6:54:26 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
Note the vast intellect of the squirrel
usind ZipLocs to protect freshness


412 posted on 06/14/2004 6:56:08 PM PDT by Lady Jag (Used to be sciencediet but found the solution)
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To: StarCMC

Star.....#350!!


413 posted on 06/14/2004 6:56:43 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

sylvester missed lunch and supper
(he's got dry food INSIDE when he shows up)
*HUG*


414 posted on 06/14/2004 6:59:28 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (I just pay rent, the cats, goat and dog let me live here.)
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To: StarCMC

The thread is GREAT! We can play music later. I really liked the folding flag. I learned it in my youth, but I like the refresher course. Thanks. What songs did we miss?


415 posted on 06/14/2004 7:02:41 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Kathy in Alaska
No matter how many times I hear that, it's still beautiful!

May I have this dance, Kat?

416 posted on 06/14/2004 7:06:16 PM PDT by TexasCowboy (COB1)
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

Beautiful sunset....our flag, a sailboat, ahhh, bliss. Thanks men in the Military and the Canteen.


417 posted on 06/14/2004 7:07:52 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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To: Lady Jag; Texas Termite
Okay, Logan!

See #373!
You're next!

418 posted on 06/14/2004 7:09:28 PM PDT by TexasCowboy (COB1)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

Oh Kathy, thank you for playing Waltz Across Texas by Ernest Tubb. Love that song.


419 posted on 06/14/2004 7:09:34 PM PDT by Soaring Feather (~The Dragon Flies' Lair~ Poetry and Prose~)
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To: Lady Jag

The lava picture is really interesting. It must be something to watch the lava flow into the sea.


420 posted on 06/14/2004 7:09:58 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (God Bless America and Our Military Who Protects Her)
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