Flag Day June 14

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14 every year, which coincides with the adoption of the US flag on June 14, 1777 by the Second Continental Congress. This date in 1775 is also is the birthday of the US Army.

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day in 1916. In 1949 an Act of Congress established Flag Day, which is not an official holiday.

Betsy Ross house

If a flag is flow upside down, it is a sign of distress. This is a plot point used in some movies, as military personnel were aware of this but the enemy was not.

If a flag is flown at “half-mast” (aboard a ship) or “half-staff” (on land), some sources say the flag is lowered to make room for an “invisible flag of death” flying above it. In the United States, this is almost always by order of the President, but a Governor can issue an order at the State level as well. A flag at half-mast or half-staff usually is in memory of a fallen government official or other public figure. On October 16, 2001, President George W. Bush approved legislation for the flag to be lowered to half-staff in memory of fallen firefighters from the Terrorist Attack of September 11.

The American flag flying at half-staff in Buchenwald, Thuringia, Germany, on 19 April 1945 following the death of President Roosevelt.

Some sources indicate that due to the First Amendment, failure to complete with Presidential orders to lower the flag carries no penalty.

Ideas for this post come from several sources, including SAR Magazine, Summer 2019, Vol. 114, No. 1, p. 18-19 and online sources.

Leave a Reply