Commemorating National Flag Day

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (JUN 3, 2022) – National Flag Day, also known as Flag Day, will be celebrated June 14 here and on many military installations.

The images of Flag Day – American flags displayed and waving in the air all over the place – stir emotions and pride in old and young alike. The prominent way the day is celebrated yearly is by displaying the American Stars and Stripes from our homes and workplaces. While not a federal holiday, which normally comes with a day off to allow Americans the opportunity to celebrate, Flag Day is important to the citizenry and the nation. 

“It is the perfect day to fly Old Glory and to celebrate the outward and steadfast symbol of the United States of America,” former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and later former Secretary of State, retired U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell, stated to a group of veterans and others celebrating Flag Day in 2009. 

“It is important that every able American family fly our nation’s flag proudly from their home or business to share our pride and support – not just on Flag Day, but every day,” Powell added. 

President Woodrow Wilson established Flag Day in 1916, acknowledging the creation of America’s symbol created June 14, 1777. The Second Continental Congress on that day passed a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white,” and that “the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” Before that resolution, colonists fighting the British were doing so under their own flags created for their regiment or force. 

As more states were represented by additional stars to the blue field, the 13 red and white stripes remained constant to represent the 13 original states.  

President Joe Biden stated last year, “Since adoption of the Stars and Stripes, Americans – and people around the world – have continuously looked to our flag as a symbol of unity and liberty. Our flag has sailed around the globe and journeyed to the moon – and now, to Mars. It has flown on fields of battle and marks the resting places of those who have given what President Lincoln called ‘the last full measure of devotion’ for our country.” 

As school children, many of us were taught Betsy Ross, who assisted the Revolutionary War effort by repairing uniforms and sewing tents, made the first American flag. However, the honor actually belongs to Francis Hopkinson, a delegate from New Jersey who signed the Declaration of Independence.

Flag Day also provides Americans with the opportunity to inventory and remove old, tattered flags and replace them with newer or cleaner versions. The American Legion, along with other veterans’ support organizations, will accept old or worn flags and destroy them in a dignified manner. Many local chapters of those organizations hold ceremonies in which those flags are burned, buried, or otherwise destroyed, preserving the honor our flag has in our communities, the nation and the world. 

President Biden also commented about our flag, “Its prominence at civic landmarks and seats of public authority communicates the promise of democracy – that under this flag, the rule of law is supreme and the people reign. As we continue the sacred work of building a more perfect Union together, let our flag serve as a reminder to us, and to the world, that America stands for and strives for the promise of freedom, justice, and equality for all.”