Reflections on the ‘Making of the Flag’

There is a pride that swells inside of us when we hear the National Anthem performed and watch Old Glory rise to the top of the staff.

There are images of the flag we all share, like the one of the flag Apollo 11 astronauts planted on the moon, an image that gives us a national sense of pride.

The flag is a symbol of unity and hope when memory recalls rescue workers amid the rubble, silhouetted against the skeleton of what was — only moments before — the World Trade Center. Old Glory hangs from a makeshift staff jutting from the heap of debris.

No breeze disturbs her. In this moment, she hangs quietly, head bowed in silent prayer for her nation.

In Joplin, Mo., when winds destroyed a wide swath of the city last month we saw the flag again as a symbol of hope. Among the first photos of the tornado’s devastation the flag was there again, this time fluttering atop the remains of trees, stripped of leaves, bark and most limbs.

It symbolizes shared sacrifice to the thousands of men and women who have served in our military. It adorns the sleeves of their uniforms and drapes the coffins of their brethren in arms. And it is presented to the families of the fallen as a symbol of gratitude from a grateful nation.

History credits a 19-year-old schoolteacher in Waubeka, Wisc., as the Father of Flag Day. On June 14, 1885, history says the young man instructed his students to write essays about the flag and its significance.

Bernard J. Cigrand would live to see President Woodrow Wilson sign a May 30, 1916, proclamation calling for the national observance of Flag Day to commemorate Continental Congress’ passage of the Flag Act on June 14, 1777.

And in August 1949, President Harry S. Truman designated June 14 of each year National Flag Day.

Today, Waubeka is home to the National Flag Day Foundation Americanism Center and people can still visit Stony Hill School where Cigrand taught when he assigned those essays.

His efforts to establish Flag Day were officially recognized on June 14, 2004, when the 108th U.S. Congress passed House Resolution 662, which recognizes that Flag Day originated in Ozaukee County, Wisc.

Cigrand was living and surely knew of the speech Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane made June 14, 1914, before about 5,000 officers and employees of the department.

Titled “Makers of the Flag,” the speech is among the most famous tributes to our nation’s flag. In Lane’s speech, he tells the story of an imaginary conversation he had with the flag that morning. Here is an excerpt of what the flag said to Lane:

“I am no more than what you believe me to be and I am all that you believe I can be.

“I am what you make me, nothing more.

“I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes this Nation. My stars and my stripes are your dream and your labors. They are bright with cheer, brilliant with courage, firm with faith, because you have made them so out of your hearts. For you are the makers of the flag and it is well that you glory in the making.”

There are two opportunities to celebrate Old Glory’s birthday today.

The first is at 6 p.m. at the Veterans Honor Park on Lucille Street in Wasilla, sponsored by the Palmer Elks Lodge, and includes a Boy Scout flag disposal ceremony.

The second event is the American Legion’s Flag Retirement ceremony at 6 p.m. at Susitna Valley Post 35, across from the Denali Restaurant on the Parks Highway. May we all pause for a moment today and reflect on our role in the Making of the Flag.