Honor our nation’s flag on Sunday

Published 10:09 pm Friday, June 12, 2009

This Sunday, June 14, is Flag Day, perhaps the least remembered of our patriotic holidays.

It marks the anniversary that the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States in 1777.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day.

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In 1912, President William Howard Taft issued an executive order that established the flag’s order of stars and proportions following the admittance of Arizona as the 48th state. Before that, the design was left to the flagmaker.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the executive orders to alter the stars’ design with the admittance of Alaska and Hawai’i as states, and it has kept that design for 50 years.

The U.S. flag is instantly recognizable around the world. More than anything or anyone else, it represents our nation and its people. Its emblem is forever inscribed in our minds in the famous photo and sculpture of the U.S. landing on Iwo Jima, and it marks the place where the United States became the first nation to land on the moon.

If you have a flag, display it prominently and proudly this Sunday. If you do not have one, consider using this holiday to get a flag of your own to display during national holidays and other special occasions.

The United States flag means many things to Americans everywhere. For those serving in combat areas, it represents everything they fight for. For those held captive, it provides hope and courage.

For all Americans, it should represent a proud nation that has endured for more than two centuries.

Long may your banner fly.