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The American flag: Symbol of heritage

  • Published
  • By Dan Simmons
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing historian
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  The American flag has always been a proud symbol of our heritage, so it is no surprise that we dedicate an entire day each year to celebrate it. That day is June 14, the anniversary of the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States. Although Flag Day is not an official national holiday, every year the president proclaims June 14 to be the flag's national day of observance.

Flag Day was first officially observed in 1877 for the 100th anniversary of the selection of the flag. In the years following that celebration, there began a groundswell of support around the nation for an annual day of observance. One of the early leaders of this movement was Bernard J. Cigrand, a schoolteacher from Wisconsin. In 1885, Cigrand arranged for the students in his school district to observe June 14 as "Flag Birthday." In the years that followed, he continued to advocate for an annual flag holiday on that date. Cigrand later helped organize the American Flag Day Association to help promote the holding of Flag Day exercises.

Other major early efforts for a national flag day occurred in Pennsylvania and New York. In 1893, the superintendent of public schools in Philadelphia directed that Flag Day exercises be held in Independence Square on June 14. On that same date the following year, the governor of New York directed the flag be displayed on all public buildings.

As a result of several decades of state and local celebrations, on May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation establishing Flag Day as an annual national celebration. The day became even more formal in 1949 when President Harry Truman officially recognized June 14 as Flag Day by signing the National Flag Day Bill.

Today we observe Flag Day in a number of ways, to include flag displays, special programs at school, and parades. It's a special day for a special symbol of our heritage and the freedoms we enjoy today. Whatever you do on Flag Day this year, think of the words of Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, during a Flag Day address in 1914. Lane claimed the flag had "spoken" to him that morning saying, "I am what you make me. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."