The American Flag

[blitzhunter]

While surfing the web I came across this picture. It seems it won second place in a photo contest. Got me thinking about all of the ways people are honored with the american flag, and the great importance of its meaning.

http://www.poyi.org/63/photos/11/02.jpg (http://www.poyi.org/63/11/03.php)Second Place
Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News
The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted."

[DarkSkies]

Man that picture tore me up, great post. :clapping:

I did some searching. The Fallen Hero Commemoration act came up somewhere around August 2008, I think, letting them publish pics of soldiers flag draped coffins. I don't mean to hijack this thread, but this stuff is important to me, I'm throwing it up here.

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There was a guy at another place, his name was Nutzo. :HappyWave:Dude was certfied lunatic, lotta fun. You never knew what he would come up with next. :wheeeee: He dropped out of sight for awhile, and we found out he was part of the detail that brought the soldiers back into the country at Dover, Delaware. He helped to give them the final respect they deserved before they went to their families to be buried. These pictures are what they are, thanks to all who have sacrificed their lives for our country. :clapping: :clapping: Thoughts and prayers to all the families.

[dogfish]

Some flag pics...

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[voyager35]

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[crosseyedbass]

Displaying the Flag Show Section Hide Section

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION (http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/more/displayonly.htm)

http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq01.gif1. When the flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and south street.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq02.gif2. The flag of the United States of America, when it is displayed with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs, should be on the right, the flag's own right [that means the viewer's left --Webmaster], and its staff should be in front of the staff of the other flag.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq03.gif3. The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. By "half-staff" is meant lowering the flag to one-half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff. Crepe streamers may be affixed to spear heads or flagstaffs in a parade only by order of the President of the United States.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq04.gif4. When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the right of the flag of the United States (the viewer's left). When the flag is half-masted, both flags are half-masted, with the US flag at the mid-point and the other flag below.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq05.gif5. When the flag is suspended over a sidewalk from a rope extending from a house to a pole at the edge of the sidewalk, the flag should be hoisted out, union first, from the building.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq06.gif6. When the flag of the United States is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from the window sill, balcony, or front of a building, the union of the flag should be placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half-staff.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq07.gif7. When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so placed that the union is at the head and over the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to touch the ground.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq08.gif8. When the flag is displayed in a manner other than by being flown from a staff, it should be displayed flat, whether indoors or out. When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a window it should be displayed in the same way, that is with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street. When festoons, rosettes or drapings are desired, bunting of blue, white and red should be used, but never the flag.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq09.gif9. That the flag, when carried in a procession with another flag, or flags, should be either on the marching right; that is, the flag's own right, or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the center of that line.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq10.gif10. The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq11.gif11. When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace. The order of precedence for flags generally is National flags (US first, then others in alphabetical order in English), State (host state first, then others in the order of admission) and territories (Washington DC, Puerto Rico, etc.), Military (in order of establishment: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard), then other. Read more. (http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/faq.htm#q72)


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq12.gif12. When displayed from a staff in a church or public auditorium on or off a podium, the flag of the United States of America should hold the position of superior prominence, in advance of the audience, and in the position of honor at the clergyman's or speaker's right as he faces the audience. Any other flag so displayed should be placed on the left of the clergyman or speaker (to the right of the audience). Please note that the old guidelines differed from this updated and simplified one.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq14.gif13. When the flag is displayed on a car, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.


http://www.ushistory.org/BETSY/images/f_etiq15.gif14. When hung in a window, place the blue union in the upper left, as viewed from the street.

[jigfreak]

Awesome pics and posts! :clapping:

[strikezone31]

If you live in America then treat our country and our flag with respect!

lMfmbeVP0Sw

[bababooey]

^^ :clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping: Wow is that guy full of ****, vinegar, and righteous anger! Great move, thanks for posting. Strike back for the good ol USA!

[MartinJackson]

How many here display the American Flag?

[storminsteve]

How many here display the American Flag?

I do, Veteran's day, July 4, Labor day, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and every 9/11.:thumbsup:

[hookedonbass]

The Betsy Ross Flag


http://www.usflag.org/history/images/betsyross.gif
Betsy Ross


Elizabeth Griscom Ross (1752-1836), was a Philadelphia seamstress, married to John Ross, an upholsterer who was killed in a munitions explosion in 1776. She kept the upholstery shop going and lived on Arch Street, not too far from the State House on Chestnut, where history was being made almost every day.

According to most historians, she has been incorrectly credited with designing the first Stars and Stripes. The story has enormous popularity, yet the facts do not substantiate it. Lets begin with the legend itself.
George Washington was a frequent visitor to the home of Mrs. Ross before receiving command of the army. She embroidered his shirt ruffles and did many other things for him. He knew her skill with a needle. Now the General of the Continental Army, George Washington appeared on Mrs. Ross's dooorstep around the first of June, 1776, with two representatives of Congress, Colonel Ross and Robert Morris. They asked that she make a flag according to a rough drawing they carried with them. At Mrs.Ross's suggestion, Washington redrew the flag design in pencil in her back parlor to employ stars of five points instead of six. ("Her version" of the flag for the new republic was not used until six years later.)

This account of the creation of our first flag was first brought to light in 1870 by one of her grandsons, William J. Canby, at a meeting of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. This took place 94 years after the event supposedly took place! Mr. Canby was a boy of eleven years when Mrs. Ross died in his home.
In the many years since the story was told, numerous historians have conducted vigorous searches into extant government records, personal diaries,and writings of Washington and his contemporaries and none of them have been able to verify the claims of Canby.

One verifiable fact is this; the minutes of the State Navy Board of Pennsylvania for May 29, 1777, say in part "An order on William Webb to Elizabeth Ross for fourteen pounds twelve shillings, and two pence, for making ship's colours,&c, put into Richards store". The minutes show that Elizabeth Ross made ship's colors for Pennsylvania state ships. Some of the facts, among others, that have been discovered by this research that cast doubt on Canby's claim are these; He asserted that the stars and stripes were in common if not general use soon after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, nearly a year before the resolution of Congress proclaiming the flag.

There is no record of the flag being discussed or of a committee being appointed for the design of the flag in either the Journals of the Continental Congress or the diaries and writings of Washington around this time. Meetings with Colonel Ross and Robert Morris cannot be documented. Further, it is illogical to assume that Washington was present at the alleged meeting with Betsy Ross on the design of the flag when it is known that he wanted a national standard made for the use of the army in 1779.

But I think that the question that begs to be asked is; Why have so many generations of Americans come to accept this legend as fact? After Canby's death, a book written by his brother George Canby and nephew Lloyd Balderson was published in 1909. The book, The Evolution of the American Flag, presented in more detail the claims for Betsy Ross made by William Canby in 1870. Among other things, the authors describe the formation of the Betsy Ross Memorial Association, and reproduced a painting by Charles H. Weisgerber depicting the alleged meeting of the committee of Congress with Betsy Ross. The picture, entitled Birth of Our Nations Flag, is actually a composite portrait made up of from pictures of her granddaughters and other decendants.

The artist took liberties with history by painting the stars in the flag in a circle. This painting, incidently, stirred a great deal of public interest in the subject when it was first exibited, at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Following this, money to purchase the Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia was raised by selling ten-cent subscriptions to the American Flag House and Betsy Ross Memorial Association, incorporated in 1898. Each contributor received a certificate of membership that included a picture of the house, her grave in Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia, and a color reproduction of the Weisberger painting.

This campaign gave the legend wide publicity and the Weisberger painting was reproduced in school history textbooks thoughout the United States! In the days of Betsy Ross we did not have the benefit of a frenetic press corps to witness, probe, and record the events of the day. Careful historians do not accept the legend and neither should we. At the same time, there often seems to be a wistful regret, best expressed, perhaps, by President Woodrow Wilson when asked his opinion of the story. He replied, "Would that it were true!"



http://www.usflag.org/history/betsyrossflag.html

[jigfreak]

I always thought it was Betsy Ross, now you popped the balloon!:(

[hookset]

The flag at Fort Hood, NJ 12 died.

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/ww/news/2009/11/07/gand-pd.jpg

[Pebbles]

flag with the fallen

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[Pebbles]

Flag of flowers

Between the fields where the flag is planted, there are 9+ miles of flower fields that go all the way to the ocean. The flowers are grown by seed companies. It's a beautiful place, close to Vandenberg AFB. Check out the dimensions of the flag. The Floral Flag is 740 feet long and 390 feet wide and maintains the proper Flag dimensions, as described in Executive Order #10834. This Flag is 6.65 acres and is the first Floral Flag to be planted with 5 pointed Stars, comprised of White Larkspur. Each Star is 24 feet in diameter; each Stripe is 30 feet wide. This Flag is estimated to contain more than 400,000 Larkspur plants, with 4-5 flower stems each, for a total of more than 2 million flowers.

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[cracklepopper]

^^What a great tribute to the men and women who serve and have served our country, thanks for posting.

[DarkSkies]

Bob from Brooklyn

I met this guy Bob and his wife on Sunday. He's originally from Brooklyn, served in the Armed Forces, and loves his country.

I asked him if he salutes the flag when he says the Pledge of Allegiance...

His response:
"Of course!"

He did tell me he's fed up with the way things are going in this country. He wears the flag upside down every time he goes out as a symbol of protest.

When will he stop doing this?
"When things get better!"

He also listens to Glen Beck and has a lot of opinions on everything under the sun...:lookhappy:

Nice to meet ya, Bob, and your wife as well. :HappyWave:

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[DarkSkies]

Sent in by Surfstix, thanks!




Meaning of a Flag Draped Coffin

http://www.legionpost37.com/Casket%20Grafix.GIF
All Americans should be given this lesson. Those who think that America is an arrogant nation should really reconsider that thought. Our founding fathers used GOD's word and teachings to establish our Great Nation and I think it's high time Americans get re-educated about this Nation's history. Pass it along and be proud of the country we live in and even more proud of those who serve to protect our "GOD GIVEN" rights and freedoms.


I hope you take the time to read this..... To understand what the flag draped coffin really means..... Here is how to understand the flag that laid upon it and is surrendered to so many widows and widowers.

Do you know that at military funerals, the 21-gun salute stands for the sum of the numbers in the year 1776?

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag1.gif

Have you ever noticed the honor guard pays meticulous attention to correctly folding the United States of America Flag 13 times? You probably thought it was to symbolize the original 13 colonies, but we learn something new every day!

The 1st fold of the flag is a symbol of life.

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag2.gif

The 2nd fold is a symbol of the belief in eternal life.


http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag3.gif


The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing the ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of the country to attain peace throughout the world.

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag4.gif
The 4th fold represents the weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.
http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag5.gif

The 5th fold is a tribute to the country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong."

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag6.gif

The 6th fold is for where people's hearts lie. It is with their heart that They pledge allegiance to the flag of the United! States Of America, and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

The 7th fold is a tribute to its Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that they protect their country and their flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of their republic.

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag7.gif

The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag8.gif

The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.

The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of their country since they were first born.

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag9.gif

The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag10.gif

The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag11.gif

The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding them of their nations motto, "In God We Trust."

http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag12.gif

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for them the rights, privileges and freedoms they enjoy today.

There are some traditions and ways of doing things that have deep meaning. In the future, you'll see flags folded and now you will know why.

Share this with the children you love and all others who love what is referred to, the symbol of "Liberty and Freedom."

http://www.legionpost37.com/USGreatSeal.gif
http://www.legionpost37.com/USGreatSeal2.gif


MAY GOD PROTECT US ALWAYS.
http://www.legionpost37.com/Flag14.gif

ONE NATION UNDER GOD, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

[rip316]

I have one up all summer long in the backyard and on Holidays like Steve said.