Flag Shows History, Unity of Country

Editorial
St. Cloud Times
June 14, 2010

[Excerpted, with image added]

The Sartell Middle School Marching Sabres, host band for the Sartell SummerFest parade, make their way along the parade route on Riverside Drive, Saturday, June 12, 2010, with Elizabeth Immelman, 10, bearing the U.S. flag. (Photo credit: Kimm Anderson / St. Cloud Times)

O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight

O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

For more than two centuries, the American flag has served as a symbol of strength, freedom and pride.

Members of all military branches have carried the flag into wars, showing people worldwide that Americans believe in and are willing to fight for democracy and liberty. And while the flag has been raised in triumph, it also has been draped over caskets as we mourn the tragic loss of those who defended our country.

President Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916, establishing a national Flag Day on June 14. President Truman made it official in 1949 when he signed legislation designating June 14 of each year as National Flag Day.

[…]

While the flag honors each state individually, it is a collective reflection of this country’s unity. So, on this Flag Day, we urge you to display the American flag with respect and help reignite a sense of patriotism from sea to shining sea.

And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

———

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — June 14, 2009

OIF/OEF — U.S. Military Deaths

One-year retrospective: One year ago today I provided my weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), compiled from U.S. Department of Defense News Releases.