REMEMBER OLD GLORY!



It was a day I will never forget.  After screening, what I thought was, another annoying solicitation phone call, I heard the words, "We're looking for the granddaughter of James Montgomery Flagg for a dedication in his honor at Fort Knox."

It was early spring in 2001, ironically just 3 months before 9-11, and plans were underway for a regal ceremony filled with high ranking military, honor guard, military marching band, a full fledged canon salute, and congratulatory letter from President George W. Bush.  The dedication was on Flag(g) Day, June 14th, 2001 year of Our Lord. It was also the 226th birthday of the United States Army.  Now the James Montgomery Flagg Memorial Field.

Flag Day was also a special day for Flagg's daughter (my Mother), who celebrated it each year with her own brand of pomp and circumstance.  So, Happy Flag Day to a great patriot, Happy Flag Day to my Mom, and Happy Flag Day America, the greatest country in the world.

Remember Old Glory!

This Thursday, June 14th, is Flag Day. It commemorates the same day 235 years ago, when, in 1777, the Continental Congress passed a resolution "that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Since that time, generations of Americans have celebrated the flag as a symbol of our God-given freedoms and God-blessed nation, and in every American military campaign, "Old Glory" has been a symbol of our freedom.

Interestingly, "Old Glory" was the name that Captain William Driver placed on a flag he was presented in 1831. The nickname given to that flag became so well known that during the Civil War, the Confederates tried unsuccessfully to confiscate and destroy Captain Driver’s flag that he had sewn into his bedcover to protect. In 1862, when Union soldiers occupied Nashville, Driver took out his flag and flew it over the Capitol as a symbol that "Old Glory" stood firm.

We still honor "Old Glory" today by celebrating Flag Day each year. The first Flag Day celebration occurred in Wisconsin in 1885, when a schoolteacher had his students observe June 14 as "Flag Birthday," or "Flag Day." This idea inspired others around the nation to continue the practice and as the celebrations grew, the idea received national recognition. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation calling for the national celebration of Flag Day, thus establishing it as a national event.

As you celebrate this year’s Flag Day, educate yourself on the greatness of America's founding, and inspire others to do the same! Happy Flag Day!

(hat tip Wall Builders)