Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo: Library of Congress.
140th U.S. Flag Day poster. 1777-1917. The birthday of the stars and stripes, June 14th, 1917.

Did you know that today is Flag Day? For me, the US flag belongs to everyone who resides here and not to any small ideological group. (Does it happen in other countries that a rabid coterie usurps “ownership” of the national flag?)

I decided to write about the history of this day so you’ll know what’s going on if you see a lot of flags around town today.

Wikipedia says, “In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress, [which] stated: ‘Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.’ …

“In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; on August 3, 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. Flag Day is not an official federal holiday. … However, it is at the president’s discretion to officially proclaim the observance. On June 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first U.S. State to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday, beginning in the town of Rennerdale. New York Statutes designate the second Sunday in June as Flag Day, a state holiday.

“Perhaps the oldest continuing Flag Day parade is in Fairfield, Washington. Beginning in 1909 or 1910, Fairfield has held a parade every year since, with the possible exception of 1918, and celebrated the ‘Centennial’ parade in 2010, along with some other commemorative events. Appleton, Wisconsin, claims to be the oldest National Flag Day parade in the nation, held annually since 1950.

“Quincy, Massachusetts, has had an annual Flag Day parade since 1952 and claims it ‘is the longest-running parade of its kind’ in the U.S.,” but it didn’t happen in the pandemic.

The Patriot Ledger of May 5, 2021, wrote, “The city’s annual Flag Day celebration is back on for this year, with a few minor adjustments. 

“Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said the much-loved parade will take place once again this June, but the annual flag raising ceremony has been canceled and fireworks have been moved to Quincy Bay. The parade will follow its usual route starting at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 12 and Koch said all of its usual participants have been asked to join in on the fun.

” ‘It may not be as robust as years past based on if our usual groups are ready, but I do expect we will have a decent parade,’ Koch said. ‘And by putting the fireworks in the bay, it spreads everybody out. At Black’s Creek, it’s hard to see them if you aren’t right there.’ 

“The city was forced to cancel its annual Flag Day parade in what would have been its 69th year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tradition did not completely fall to the wayside, and the Flag Day Committee planned a ‘drive under the flag’ event that gave the city an opportunity to make use of its 30-by-50-foot American flag. The giant flag was hoisted by two Quincy Fire Department ladder trucks on Merrymount Parkway near Veterans Memorial Stadium, and residents drove under it with decorated vehicles cars, vans, small trucks and bikes.

“Koch said parade viewers this year will be encouraged to wear masks when they can’t socially distance.”

A WW II veteran I knew and generally admired once spoke of “fighting for the flag” as literally fighting for the flag. People died for the flag, he said. He did not understand about the literary term metonymy, in which an object is used to represent a concept, like referring to the British monarch as “the Crown.” I tried to say that a country’s flag represents the country and is not literally what people die for. He didn’t see it that way.