ST. GEORGE — The Stars and Stripes. Old Glory. The Grand Old Flag. The Star-Spangled Banner. No matter what name it goes by, the red, white and blue of the American flag is celebrated annually on Flag Day.
The Color Country Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Red Cliffs of Zion Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution at the annual Flag Day ceremony on Friday afternoon, St. George, Utah, June 14, 2024 | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News
The Color Country Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s 3rd annual Flag Day Ceremony Friday afternoon was one such celebration. This year’s ceremony at the St. George Active Life Center marked the 247th anniversary of America’s flag and the 247th birthday of the U.S. Army.
Community members received certificates for properly and proudly flying their American flags on their properties by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The recipients must have followed the U.S. Flag Code.
Colby C. Jenkins, a distinguished U.S. Army Special Forces member, delivered the keynote address. He took the audience back to America’s early history, recounting when the British burned Washington D.C. during the War of 1812. Jenkins vividly described the British warships’ attempt to capture Fort McHenry.
Jenkins spoke of the bravery of the forefathers who were being shelled nonstop by the British and bombarded Fort McHenry on Sept. 13-14 yet still flew an American flag at the fort. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was inspired by this event, when Francis Scott Key was imprisoned but could see the flag flying during battle. The national anthem is the first verse of his poem.
“The large flag flown represented the courage, the bravery and the ‘never quit’ fight of the American soldiers,” Colby said. “The British saw that flag and what it represented and withdrew.”
Jenkins added that no matter one’s perspective, the flag serves as the United States North Star. He said it allows Americans to “stand strong, have courage and fly free.”
Lyrics of the “Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key:
Say, can you see
By the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly, yeah, streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there …
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Members of the Daughters and Sons of the Revolution also presented flags illustrating how it has been officially modified 26 times since 1777. For 47 years, the 48-star flag was the standard. Then in 1959, the 49-star version became official on July 4. President Eisenhower ordered the 50-star flag on Aug. 21, 1959.
Flag Day was officially established on May 30, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation recognizing June 14 as Flag Day.
President Wilson stated, “It is the anniversary of the day upon which the Congress adopted the flag of the United States as the emblem of the Union.” He also wrote, “On that day rededicate ourselves to the nation, ‘one and inseparable’ from which every thought that is not worthy of our fathers’ first vows in independence, liberty, and right shall be excluded and in which we shall stand with united hearts.”
The program participants included Laura Miller, Color Country Chapter; Michael C. McKee, U.S. Army, Vietnam Veteran, Purple Heart; Dixie High School Air Force JROTC Cadets Color Guard; violinist Kirsten Carter; singer Addison Cutler; Capt. Thomas J. Marshall, U.S. Navy, retired; Valerie King, Color Country Chapter Honorary Regent; and Ann Robinson, Color Country Chapter Chaplain. Red Cliffs of Zion Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution also attended the event.
For additional information about Flag Day, view the U.S. Army video below.
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