Flag Day Almost Unnoticed

Sandwiched in between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July is a little-known holiday called Flag Day.

Falling in the middle of the month in the middle of the year and right smack between two major patriotic holidays, historians say the latter is why Flag Day is often overlooked and under celebrated by the masses.

Perhaps another reason why Flag Day goes unnoticed is because no one, except the good people of Pennsylvania and American Samoa, get the day off from work.

This, of course, isn't the case with Memorial Day and July 4.

Summer is the time for patriotic holidays and Flag Day is no exception. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes pattern for the American flag. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman officially proclaimed June 14 to be Flag Day.

Veterans' groups and the Boy Scouts celebrate Flag Day by retiring the American Flag in a special ceremony. All over America, families fly the flag in appreciation of the many members of the military serving overseas and the people who have given their lives for freedom in the United States.

"Flag day is important for every veteran," said VFW Post 7589 Commander Ron Link. "We honor the flag and retire it in a very special ceremony."

Family Flag Day activities can include a visit to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., where the original American Flag is on display.

Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner while looking at the flag waving above Fort McHenry after the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. After many years of restoration the flag is encased in glass with a large exhibition describing the historic details of the battle.

"The flag is something that every vet carries in his heart into combat," said Link. "It's what we believe in and fight for during every battle."

While Flag Day might not be the biggest holiday of the summer, it is still an important date in American history and can be celebrated with patriotic crafts, red, white and blue barbeques and a quiet moment to remember how important the flag is to Americans.