What the American Flag Symbolizes

July 1, 2009 ~ waterfallbooks ~ Leave a comment

I took a walk today in the cemetery near my home. A portion of the cemetery is dedicated to those who served in the American Armed Forces. What caught my attention was the fluttering of hundreds of flags. Each seemed to stand as a silent thank you for the service of each man and woman.

A flag is more than just a piece of cloth. It is a symbol of so much more. It stands for a country, a government, and a set of ideas. The American flag symbolizes laws laid out in the Constitution, freedoms given in the Bill of Rights, and the risk taken by the Declaration of Independence.

Contrary to popular belief, the colors of the American flag did not have any symbolic meaning when it was first adopted; however the colors of the flag-like portion of the Great Seal do have meaning. Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, stated, “White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valor, and Blue . . . signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.” It was quite fitting these colors should fly over the graves of those had given their all.

The stars of the flag, however, do have symbolism. The resolution adopted on June 14, 1777, reads, “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.” As the many stars formed one design, the many states formed one country.

I continued walking past the flags and I noticed a few of them had fallen over. If they had just been an old rag or even one of the flower displays left on some of the graves, I would have ignored them. But they were flags, lying on the ground. They were a symbol of my country, of my freedom to walk in the sunshine and to say what I chose and to worship how I please.

I picked up the flags and set them back in their places. And I smiled in silent thanks.

Katie Hart

California Flag

June 22, 2009 ~ Stacey Patrick ~ Leave a comment

The California flag has perhaps one of the most interesting histories of any state flag in the Union. The original version of the California flag was first flown in the year 1846 during the Bear Flag Revolt. Because of the obvious Bear in the middle of the California flag, the California flag has also been called the Bear Flag.

The California flag was first designed by William L. Todd, the nephew of Mary Todd – wife of Abraham Lincoln. According to reports, the star on the California flag was actually influenced by the 1836 California Lone Star Flag. The original California flag was actually designed in blackberry juice, and the bear on the California flag was designed to be a symbol of strength and unyielding resistance.
The first version of the California flag represented California for only a brief time – from June 14th to July 9th, 1846. On July 7th, 1846 Commodore John Drake Sloat of the US Navyfirst raised the 28-star American flag at the capital of California, thus claiming the territory for the United States. Two days later, on July 9, 1846, Joseph Warren Revere of the United States Navy hauled down the California Bear Flag in Sonoma, and replaced it with the American Stars and Stripes. The California Bear Flag was then given to a young man by the name of John E. Montgomery, who later wrote in a letter to his mother, “Cuffy came down growling”. “Cuffy” was Montgomery’s nickname for the bear on the California flag.

The original California flag was eventually returned to California in 1855 when it was given to California Senators William M. Gwin and John B Weller. The original California Flag was preserved at the Pioneer Halls in San Francisco until it was destroyed on April 18, 1906 in the fires that followed the great San Francisco earthquake.

Arkansas Flag

June 11, 2009June 11, 2009 ~ Stacey Patrick ~ 1 Comment

The Arkansas Flag consists of a red field decorated with a large white diamond with a blue border. The Arkansas flag contains twenty nine five-pointed stars. Twenty-five small white stars appear within the blue border, and four larger blue stars appear in the white diamond. The word “ARKANSAS” appears in blue inside the white diamond, with one star above and three below.

The design for the Arkansas Flag was created by Willie Kavanaugh Hocker of Wabbaseka in the year 1912. In 1912, Daughters of the American Revolution of the Pine Bluff chapter wanted to create an official Arkansas Flag to present for the commissioning of the battleship USS Arkansas.

When it was originally discovered that Arkansas did not yet have a state flag, the Daughters of the American Revolution decided to sponsor a contest to design an official Arkansas Flag. Willie Hocker, a member of the Pine Bluff chapter of the Daughters, won the contest with a design that is similar to the current Arkansas Flag. Mrs. Hocker designed a flag that consisted of three blue stars in the middle of a white diamond, however the word “ARKANSAS” was omitted. At the request of Secretary of State Earle Hodges, chairman of the Arkansas Flag committee, Hocker eventually added the word “ARKANSAS” and also rearranged the stars to their current design and location. This version of the Arkansas Flag was adopted by the legislature on February 26, 1913.

In 1923, the legislature decided to alter the Arkansas Flag, and added a fourth star to represent the Confederate States of America. This fourth star was originally placed on the Arkansas Flag so that there were two stars above the state name along with two below. This design for the Arkansas flag was meant to include the Confederacy alongside France, Spain, and the United States. This however disturbed the other two meanings of the original three stars, and so it was corrected by the legislature in 1924. The Confederate star was eventually above “ARKANSAS” and the original three stars were placed below it, just as it is today.

Free American Flag Giveaway

June 8, 2009June 9, 2009 ~ Tommy McLaughlin ~ Leave a comment

The United States Flag Store to give away 2,000 free American Flags

New Stanton, PA June 5, 2009– The United States Flag Store announced plans today to give away 2,000 American flags for free on a first-come, first-served basis. The announcement comes on the heels of the company’s latest endeavor into the rapidly growing world of social media – most notably, Twitter.

In celebration of their debut onto one of the fastest growing websites in recent history, the United States Flag Store plans to give out 2,000 2 ½’ x 4’ Annin American flags for free to their next 2,000 Twitter followers. Thanks again to the world’s largest online flag store, customers all over the world are now only a simple mouse click away from receiving a free American flag, just in time for the 4th of July.

This latest promotion by the United States Flag Store is sure to generate some well deserved attention for the company, who has continued to experience truly unprecedented growth since its inception in early 2001 – due in large part to their truly incredible product line.

About the United States Flag Store
The United States Flag Store is the single largest part of the Online Stores, Inc. family. Founded by Lisa and Kevin Hickey in 2002, Online Stores, Inc. is a rapidly growing, family owned company based near Pittsburgh, PA. Three times voted among America’s Top 500 Internet Retailers, Online Stores operates nine internet retail stores including the United States Flag Store, the most popular retail flag website, and the English Tea Store, the second most popular tea website as ranked by Alexa.com.

For your free flag, be sure to visit http://flags.me/special-events today!

Arizona Flag

June 5, 2009June 5, 2009 ~ Tommy McLaughlin ~ 2 Comments

The Arizona Flag originated in the year 1910, when the head of the Arizona National Guard, Colonel Charles W. Harris set out to design a flag for the Arizona Rifle Team at the National Matches of that year. In prior years, Arizona had been the only team to compete at the National Matches without a flag, thus the Arizona Flag as we know it today was born.

The Arizona Flag consists of 13 rays of red and gold on the top half of the flag. These rays supposedly represent both the rays of the Western setting sun as well as the original 13 counties of Arizona. The actual red and gold colors likely originate from the flags of the conquistadors of Spain. Red and gold were the colors carried by Coronado in his search of the Seven Cities of Cibola in the year 1540.

The Arizona Flag also contains a copper colored star in the center of the flag, which represents the copper mining industry in Arizona. At the time of inception of the Arizona Flag, Arizona was the largest producer of copper in the nation. The rest of the flag is colored blue, which – just as the American Flag– is meant to represent liberty.

The Arizona Flag was adopted as the official flag on February 17, 1917 by the third state legislature. Interestingly enough, it was actually passed into law without the signature of then Governor Thomas Campbell. To this day, there is no record of the governor ever issuing an official statement as to why he decided to not take action on the bill.

In a study done in 2001, the Arizona flag was voted among the top 10 best flags on the continent. The Arizona flag was ranked 6th out of 72 flags in North America for overall design and quality.

–Stacey Patrick

Alaska Flag

May 27, 2009 ~ Stacey Patrick ~ 1 Comment

The Alaska flag truly does have an interesting history. Although the Alaska flag was not adopted for official state use until 1959, it was actually created much earlier– in 1926.

The Alaska Flag of consists of eight gold stars, that together form the Big Dipper and the North Star, all emblazoned upon a dark blue field. The first seven of the stars on the Alaska Flag are supposedly from the constellation Ursa Major (the Big Dipper). The eighth star on the Alaska Flag represents the North Star, symbolizing Alaska’s being the northern most state. The blue field of the Alaska Flag represents the sky, the sea and mountain lakes, and also Alaska’s wildflowers.

The Alaska flag was designed in 1927 by a 13-year-old Native American boy named Bennie Benson, who resided in Seward. There was a contest established to create a flag for Alaska- what was then simply the “Alaska Territory”. Benson’s design for the Alaska Flag was chosen over roughly 700 other submissions from schoolchildren ranging from grades 7-12 territory-wide.

In celebration of his achievement, Benson was awarded $1,000 along with an engraved watch. Most of the other students’ entries featured variations on the traditional territorial seal, the midnight sun, northern lights, polar bears, and others of the like.

Until this time, Alaskans had generally flown only the U.S. flag since the territory was purchased from Russia in 1867, however the Alaska Legislature soon adopted Benson’s Alaska Flag design. Benson’s Alaska Flag design became the official Alaska Flag for the Territory of Alaska on May 2, 1927. The very first flag made based on Benson’s design was made of blue silk and gold stars, and was inaugurally flown on July 9, 1927. Benson’s original design for the Alaska Flag was retained as the official Alaska State Flag upon declaration of statehood in 1959.

History of the POW/MIA Flag

May 20, 2009 ~ Tommy McLaughlin ~ Leave a comment

As Memorial Day nears, Americans all across the country are encouraged to remember America’s fallen heroes, both within our borders and abroad. This past week, we join many other Americans in the mourning of Newt Heisley – the original designer of the POW/MIA Flag, who passed away on May 14th, 2009. Mr. Heisley’s POW/MIA flag is arguably the 2nd most popular flag in all of America behind none other than the Stars and Stripes herself.

In his early years, Newt Heisley was a pilot in the South Pacific Theater during World War II. During the Vietnam War, however, Mr. Heisley became a professional art director at Annin and Company, the country’s largest flag manufacturer. In 1971 he was asked to create a flag for the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. Heisley, as he himself was a veteran of the South Pacific Theater of World War II, had a personal concern for the many who served in the Vietnam War.

The design for Newt Heisley’s POW/MIA flag shows a silhouette of a soldier’s head in the foreground, with a watchtower and a guard surrounded by an intimidating barbed wire fence behind. Mr. Heisley’s design was reportedly inspired by his own son Jeffery, who at the time had been training with the United States Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam.

Jeffery Heisley never even made it out of training; he immediately became very ill during his training at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia. Jeffery was reportedly diagnosed with hepatitis – a disease that ravaged his body, completely emaciating his face and body structure.

When Jeffery returned home, medically discharged and unable to continue in the United States Marine Corps, his father Newt looked on in horror at what had once been a strong and able young man. Then, as Newt Heisley looked closer at his son’s haggard features, he began to imagine what life must be like for those prisoners being held behind barbed wire fences on foreign shores. Slowly, he began to sketch the profile of his son, working in pencil to create the now familiar black and white silhouette of the POW/MIA flag.

Perhaps the most symbolic part of the entire POW/MIA flag — more important than just the sketch of a distraught and malnourished prisoner, and more meaningful than the intimidation of the barbed wire background — are the words emblazoned in bold white letters across the bottom of the flag.

“You Are Not Forgotten“, the flag boldly exclaims – and it is this statement, profound in its simplicity, that epitomizes the very heart and soul of the American people. This short 4 word sentence characterizes the American people’s unending love and appreciation for all those who have chosen to sacrifice their lives so that we may live – and live well at that – in the best country this world has ever known.

–Tommy McLaughlin

POW MIA Flag

May 13, 2009May 13, 2009 ~ Carol Frome ~ 6 Comments

“You are Not Forgotten”

During the early 1970’s, after friends and families of MIAs and POWs in Vietnam plowed the ground and sowed the seeds, a popular movement took hold in the grass roots of the American landscape.

Seemingly lost among the war protests of the time, prisoners of war and those missing in action went uncounted and unremembered—but only by the general public.

Their friends and families had not forgotten them and launched an effort to remind the broader American public that whatever one’s opinion about the Vietnam Conflict, these men existed, every day paying the price to prevent the spread of communism; or maybe in reality, they were simply paying the price for being drafted and seduced into what many deemed an imperialist conflict in a little country thousands of miles from home.

The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia formed as a result of their families’ anguish, and soon, a flag was commissioned. Mrs. Michael Hoff, wife of a soldier missing in action, contacted a flag company who then contacted advertising executive Newton Heisley, a veteran of World War II and the father of Jeffery Heisley who had served in the Marines but had been sent home from a Corp training program, gaunt and emaciated, with hepatitis.

It is his silhouette that graces the black and white flag designed by his father and that has flown since 1971. We have known it as the nation’s officially recognized POW/MIA Flag since 1990 when U.S. Public Law 101-355 passed. It is the only flag that flies continuously in the United States Capitol’s rotunda, and it is also the only flag other than the Stars and Stripes that has ever flown over the White House.

Today, the POW/MIA Flag represents all of the more than 89,000 post-WWII missing soldiers, and all who fly it remain committed to the remembrance and full accounting of all soldiers still missing in action.

–Carol Frome

The Mexican Flag

May 7, 2009May 14, 2009 ~ Carol Frome ~ Leave a comment

The Mexican flag represents an ancient history that travels forward through time into modern day sensibilities—and one of the biggest cities in the world, Mexico City, is home to just shy of twenty-three million inhabitants.

Adopted in 1968, today’s Mexican flag is the descendant of earlier, similar versions that have been around since 1821, when Mexico won independence from Spain after an eleven-year struggle. Mexican-born Spainards, Mestizos, and Amerindians were among the rebels who fought for independence, but it is the Amerindians, the Aztecs, a culture dating from the early 1100’s, who gave Mexico its primary patriotic symbol, a pictogram of a snake-eating eagle.
Among the Aztecs, one northern culture, the Mexica (pronounced me-shee-ka), embodied the Tenochca tribe. Tenochca culture included human sacrifice, and eventually other tribes banded together in an attempt to crush them. The survivors eventually fled. Aztec legend says that their war god, Huitzilopochtli, directed them to found a new city where they would find an eagle sitting on a prickly pear cactus, eating a serpent. Somewhere between 1300 and 1375, on a swampy island at the center of three lakes, they espied the sought-after lunching eagle and so settled and built the city Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City.

First, then, a symbol of Aztec culture, the fearsome coat of arms now represents all of Mexico and figures prominently in the Mexican flag, positioned on a central white vertical band with a green band on the hoist side and red band on the fly side.

In 1821, the green portion of the Mexican flag signified independence, white the Catholic faith, and red the union of North Americans and Europeans. But during the mid-1800’s (a period of secularization), the colors’ meanings were reassigned, with green representing hope, white representing unity, and red the blood of national heroes.

When the Mexican flag is displayed, civilian Mexicans stand at attention with their right arm placed in a salute over their chests, just under the heart, with the palm facing downward. A military salute is used by the armed forces. When the Mexican president presides over military functions, he too, uses the military salute, but on civil occasions, he uses the civil salute. With its fascinating history, the Mexican Flag is a flag that honors both a country and a rich heritage.

–Carol Frome

The Lion Rampant

April 29, 2009April 29, 2009 ~ Carol Frome ~ Leave a comment

In addition to the national flag of Scotland, known as the Flag of St. Andrew (or the Saltire), a second flag of Scotland exists. It flies over Balmoral Castle and Holyrood Palace, but only when the monarch is not in residence: The Royal Standard of Scotland is also known as the Lion Rampant.

On a gold field and framed by a red double tressure flory counter-flory, the red lion rampant with its blue tongue and claws is aggressively confrontational on its hind legs, one of them also appearing to rise with forelegs extended, ready to strike.

According to a register in the College of Arms in London, King William I of Scotland, the Kyng of Scotz (1165-1214), first introduced the fearsome figure to his battle standard and coat of arms. Interestingly, he and some of his descendants may possibly have been accompanied by a real lion while in residence at the castles Stirling and Edinburgh, for indeed, both have buildings within the castle walls that are called “the Lion’s Den”.

As well as adopting the Lion Rampant as the royal coat of arms, it was incorporated into the Great Seal of Scotland and used on all official documents. As the personal banner of the Crown, its use is restricted under a 1672 act of Parliament, The Lyon King of Arms Act. It may be used lawfully only by the monarch, by the Royal Regiment, on state occasions, and by a handful of the monarch’s official representatives.

Since then, however, a Royal Warrant has been issued allowing it to be used, under certain circumstances, as a token of loyalty to the Crown. When official Scots teams are playing, hand-held banners fill the stands at soccer matches. It may also be hung from private homes and businesses. But there are limits. Even today, unlawfully using the Royal Coat of Arms can result in heavy fines: in 1978, linen merchant Denis Pamphilon was fined £100 daily until he stopped using the standard on decorative bedspreads.

The Royal Coat of Arms, as it was designed, is associated with the latin motto “Nemo me impune lacessit,” which means “no one attacks me with impunity.” In Scots, it reads, “Wha daur meddle wi’ me?” The Lion Rampant is an ancient and enduring symbol of bravery, valor, strength, and loyalty, and a banner as meaningful to Scots today as it was in the twelfth century.

–Carol Frome