Public ceremony marks Flag Day

Several service organizations came together last week to pay tribute to the Stars and Stripes, holding a special ceremony for Flag Day.

Falling on June 14 each year, Flag Day celebrates the adoption of the United States' current flag on that day in 1777. Though not an official holiday, the anniversary was first recognized by President Woodrow Wilson by proclamation, and later by Congress in 1946. It has been observed since 1907 by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a patriotic fraternal organization, which had encouraged the day's wider adoption.

The local Elks' Grand Exalted Ruler, Jack Pino, explained the American flag is emblematic of those virtues the order espouses: charity, justice for all, fidelity and brotherly love. As such, a ceremonial service was held last Wednesday at the Lodge with members of Wrangell's American Legion and Emblem Club to mark its adoption.

The ceremony was preceded by a visual history, assisted by ladies of the Emblem Club.

"Heraldry is as old as the human race," Pino began. Inasmuch as a flag reflects the character of the nation it represents, the history of the flag itself reflects the country's own progression. In the early days of colonists' struggle with the United Kingdom in 1775, several different banners were used by those calling for independence.

The Pine Tree Flag was one of the earliest adopted by the Continental Army, commissioned in October 1775. The yellow Gadsden Flag, with its recognizable rattlesnake and the message "Don't Tread on Me," was adopted by the Continental Marines later that December.

That same month, one of the earliest versions of the Stars and Stripes was adopted for use by the burgeoning country. Called the Grand Union Flag, it bore the now familiar 13 red and white horizontal stripes, but instead of today's blue field and white stars Britain's "Union Jack" held the upper inside corner.

In 1777 a new flag was commissioned by the Continental Congress, designed by Betsy Ross. In her flag the blue field and circle of 13 white, five-pointed stars supplanted the Union Jack, and gave the new country a distinct banner of its own.

Pino explained the first formal salute was given this new banner in February 1778, as vessels of the French fleet gave recognition to the "Bonhomme Richard," captained by John Paul Jones.

Inside the Elks Lodge,

more iterations of the U.S. flag were shown, charting the country's path from its successful bid for independence through years of westward expansion, a tumultuous civil war and two world wars. Since the addition of states to the country's original 13 in 1795, more stars were added to the flag's "immortal constellation," as Pino put it. For a stretch of 47 years the flag bore 48 stars, before adding on its last two in quick succession.

"Then on July 4, 1959, a star was added for Alaska," he said.

How the flag is viewed – as a symbol of freedom, or else of imperialism – is reflective of how the nation itself is viewed, Pino explained, and its colors symbolize the American way of life, whatever it is we may make of it. Quoting Wilson's first Flag Day address, he defined the flag as "the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours. It floats in majestic silence above the hosts that execute those choices, whether in peace or in war. And yet, though silent, it speaks to us."

With remarks and prayers, the ceremony was concluded with an "honorable retirement" of worn flags by burning. A color guard of Legionnaires and Elks members saw to the procedure, as laid out in the Flag Code.