By Carol Fisher-Linn
Your’e a grand old flag, you’re a high flying flag …
You’re the emblem of the land I love …
George M. Cohan said it best in 1906, writing the song after a conversation with an old Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg (July 1-2, 1863). Forty-three years later, that old soldier solemnly sat at a memorial holding a very tattered old flag from those war days. He quietly commented to Cohen, “she’s a grand old rag.” Those words resonated with Cohen and inspired the song. Of course, poplar opinion did not like the word “rag” in the tune. He bowed to pressure, giving us the version we have today, substituting “rag” for “flag.” That flag, by the way, had 34 stars.
On today’s flag, the 50 stars represent the 50 U.S. states, and the thirteen stripes represent the 13 British colonies that declared independence from Great Britain. Trivia buffs might be interested to know the names of those 13 colonies – New England Colonies – New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut; Middle Colonies – New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; Southern Colonies – Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia. The colors of the flag are symbolic: red for hardiness and valor, white for purity and innocence, and blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice. The Continental Congress passed an act on June 14, 1777 giving our new nation its own flag, but wasn’t until 1949 when President Harry S. Truman officially declared June 14 as Flag Day across America.
Ever wonder what happened to the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the “Star Spangled Banner?” Remember the story of how he watched (from on board a ship) the day-long shelling of Fort McHenry in Baltimore by the British in 1814 and was so moved to see the massive flag still waving at the end. The National Museum of History has taken on its preservation after removing it from display in 1999. 209 years from the years it bravely flew, it is now still shown in a special low-oxygen, filtered light chamber, and inspected regularly for any other signs of decay or damage.
Consider the flag bearers who carried flags in battle over the centuries. The Civil War
was horribly bloody with the invention of gunpowder and soldiers carrying rifles and bayonets. Traditionally, in battle, standard bearers were always marked targets but, on the gun smoke-filled battlefield, they were often the only targets to be seen. Yet, they carried on, surely knowing another would pick the flag up and carry it forward if they got shot. Think of Iwo Jima where a total of almost 26,000 humans perished, 6,800 of whom were Americans. Yet a team of Marines put their own lives in peril to hoist the flag at the top of Mount Suribachi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima
We can never forget another famous flag plant by astronaut Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969. Our patriotism was at its peak on that day as we watched him salute that flag. Do you remember? I certainly do.
Our flag deserves our respect for all those reasons and more. There is an official flag code in the United States. Traditional guidelines per Public Law 94-344, known as the Federal Flag Code, “call for displaying the flag in public only from sunrise to sunset. However, the flag may be displayed at all times if it’s illuminated during darkness. The flag should not be subject to weather damage, so it should not be displayed during rain, snow, and windstorms unless it is an all-weather flag. It should be displayed often, but especially on national and state holidays and special occasions. It should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.”
There is another, less official flag code that we Americans always break in our quest for flag adorned tee shirts, hoodies, hats, doggie coats, holiday paper products, etc. We also break etiquette when we display the flag inappropriately on the backs of vehicles, flying from car windows, etc. Here are regulations I found online. “People commonly violate the Flag Code when displaying the Stars and Stripes on apparel, athletic uniforms or bedding. During many sporting events, the flag is brought out and held over the field. But the flag code states that “the flag should never be carried flat or horizontally,” but always aloft.
Bottom line: Our flag is to be honored. Our flag is to be cherished and flown in respect. It should be clean, crisp, and attached properly and securely on a flagpole, not flown from the back of a pickup truck, often faded, and torn. A torn flag needs to be removed and taken to the American Legion where they will properly and ceremoniously burn it.
The official Flag Day has just passed (Wednesday, June 14), yet as a proud American, Flag Day should be every day, as you proudly and respectfully fly your country’s colors at your home or place of business. God Bless America.