Celebrate Flag Day June 14 2022!
Charles "Chuck" Wilson
Retiring...Past Chairman Of The Board...Exec Director...National Security Consultant...past State Dept Diplomat...Past Pentagon Bureaucrat...past USAF Command Pilot...Cold War U-2 Pilot
THE HISTORY OF FLAG DAY
The first celebration of the U.S. Flag's birthday was held in 1877 on the 100th anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777. However, it is believed that the first annual recognition of the flag's birthday dates to 1885 when schoolteacher, BJ Cigrand, first organized a group of Wisconsin school children to observe June 14 - the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes as the Flag's Birthday. Cigrand, now known as the 'Father of Flag Day,' continued to publicly advocate the observance of June 14 as the flag's 'birthday', or 'Flag Day' for years.
Just a few years later the efforts of another schoolteacher, George Balch, led to the formal observance of 'Flag Day' on June 14 by the New York State Board of Education. Over the following years as many as 36 state and local governments began adopted the annual observance. For over 30 years Flag Day remained a state and local celebration.
In 1916, the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 became a nationally observed event by a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson. However, it was not designated as National Flag Day until August 3rd, 1949, when an Act of Congress designated June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
Today, Flag Day is celebrated with parades, essay contests, ceremonies, and picnics sponsored by veterans' groups, schools, and groups like the National Flag Day foundation whose goal is to preserve the traditions, history, pride, and respect that are due the nation's symbol, Old Glory.
Here are some facts to share about the American flag, compiled from Britannica.
1. The version of the flag the U.S. used today is the 27th. The final star was for Hawaii, which was the 50th state added in 1960.
2. The first time the flag was flown after being adopted was on Aug. 3, 1777, in Rome, New York.
3. The colors of the flag signify purity, valor and justice. The white is for purity, the red is for valor and blue is for justice.
4. Some nicknames for the American flag are "old glory," "star-spangled banner," "red, white and blue" and "Stars and Stripes."
5. The current 50-star pattern was created by 17-year-old high school student Robert G. Heft in 1958 for a class project.
6. Neil Armstrong placed the first U.S. flag on the moon in July 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
Military.com; History.com; International Business Times; Britannica
