By Robin Widmar
Flag Day, observed each year on June 14, marks the anniversary of the adoption of the American flag by the Continental Congress in 1777. While not a federal holiday, it is a day to reflect on the flag’s history and the values it represents.
The American flag is more than a piece of cloth. It is a symbol of freedom, resilience and national pride. It drapes the caskets of fallen service members and first responders. It leads parades and is displayed at sporting events. Astronauts carry it on space missions. From Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima to firefighters raising the flag at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11 attacks, the American flag serves as a reminder that the nation will persevere even in its darkest hours. Johnny Cash wrote his classic “Ragged Old Flag,” an homage to the flag’s and the nation’s endurance, after the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon’s resignation. As the country approaches its 250th anniversary, Flag Day offers an opportunity to renew respect for a symbol that has united generations of Americans.
Origins of Flag Day
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing June 14 as Flag Day. President Harry S. Truman signed an act of Congress officially designating June 14 as National Flag Day in 1949. In 2017, President Donald Trump expanded the observance to include Flag Week. Efforts to honor the adoption of the American flag, however, began well before those official designations.
According to the National Flag Foundation, Victor Morris in 1861 encouraged his community in Hartford, Connecticut, to create a day of remembrance for the anniversary of the American flag’s adoption. Teachers began commemorating Flag Day as a way to engage students with history. In 1885, Fredonia, Wisconsin, schoolteacher B.J. Cigrand encouraged his students to celebrate “Flag Birthday” and later championed the idea of a national flag holiday. In 1889, kindergarten teacher George Balch held a Flag Day celebration with his students, which led the New York State Board of Education to adopt its own observance in schools.
The efforts of Col. J. Granville Leach, a historian for the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution, culminated in a large assembly of schoolchildren at Philadelphia’s Independence Square on June 14, 1893. In 1894, the American Flag Day Association held a public school celebration in Chicago.
Flag etiquette
Etiquette for the display and care of the American flag is outlined in U.S. Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8, which states: “No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America.” Among other provisions, the code says the flag should never touch anything beneath it; should never be used, displayed or stored in a manner that would damage or soil it; and should never be flown upside down “except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”
The code also states: “The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.” It should not be used as apparel, costumes or an athletic uniform, though flag patches on uniforms are permitted. It also should not be used for advertising purposes. No markings, designs, drawings or insignia should be placed on the flag, and it should not be printed on disposable items such as paper napkins or boxes.
When the American flag “is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display,” it should be destroyed in a dignified way. Scouting organizations and veterans groups such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars often accept old flags for dignified disposal.
