June 14 is Army and Flag Day, celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the United States Army on June 14, 1775, and the adoption of our flag by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.
Our flag is a beacon of Liberty, a symbol of hope for all people who “hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed — that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…”
We American Patriots honor the history of our national flag and display it with pride. We believe those who denigrate our flag — and by extension our nation — deeply offend the honorable service of all who have defended our nation under its banner, and their families.
We invite you to take time and read about the history of our flag and learn more about proper flag etiquette and protocol.
We encourage you to obtain copies of I’m Your Flag for elementary school children in your family and community. As Medal of Honor recipient and former POW Leo Thorsness observed, “It is a fitting tribute to our national banner and a great resource for young Americans.”
In the forward, he wrote:
What do you think of when you see our flag, especially when it is covering the casket of an American Patriot or in front of a grave marker?
Let me tell you a story about one little flag. As a fighter pilot on my 93rd mission over North Vietnam, my F-105 was hit by an air-to-air missile and my Electronic Warfare Officer Harold Johnson and I were forced to eject. After unsuccessful rescue attempts, we were captured by enemy forces and imprisoned in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” for the next six years.
One day in our sixth year of imprisonment, a young Navy pilot named Mike Christian found a piece of cloth in a gutter. After we collected some other small rags, he worked secretly at night to piece them together into a flag. He made red from ground-up roof tiles and blue from tiny amounts of ink, then used rice glue to paste the colors onto the rags. Using thread from his blanket and a homemade bamboo needle, he sewed the pieces together, adding white fragments for stars.
One morning he whispered from the back of our cell, “Hey gang, look here,” and proudly held up that tattered American flag, waving it as if in a breeze. We all snapped to attention and saluted — with tears in our eyes.
A week later, the guards were searching our cells and found Mike’s flag and tore it to pieces. That night they pulled him out of the cell and, for his simple gesture of patriotism, they tortured him. At daylight they pushed what was left of Mike back through the cell door.
Despite the torture, the next day Mike gathered the shredded remains of that little flag and pieced it back together.
Today, whenever I see our flag, I think of Mike and the morning he first waved that tattered emblem of our great nation. It was then, thousands of miles from home, imprisoned by a brutal enemy, that he courageously demonstrated the liberty it represents, and that is what I see in every American flag.
Flag Day serves as an annual reminder to replace your flag with the highest-quality American-made U.S. flags, available from our Patriot Post Shop. When we send your new flag, we will include packing to return your old flag for proper retirement.
Also on June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress directed “six companies of expert riflemen be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia.” Each company consisted of “a captain, three lieutenants, four sergeants, four corporals, a drummer or trumpeter and sixty-eight privates.” Finally, “Each company … shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief Officer in that army.”
The next day, George Washington was appointed commander of the Continental Army, which later became the U.S. Army.
As the Army and its fellow service branches continue to lead the way defending Liberty under our proud national banner, join us in prayer for all of our military Patriots standing in harm’s way, and their families awaiting their safe return.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
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Join us in prayer for our Patriots in uniform and their families — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way, and for our nation’s First Responders. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic’s Founding Principle of Liberty, in order to ignite the fires of freedom in the hearts and minds of our countrymen. Thank you for supporting our nation’s premier online journal of Liberty.
The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring Their Sacrifice Foundation and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.
