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Fly It Right

Colonial Flag — Mon, 21 May 2012 04:34:17 +0000

When flying our flag at home, my dad took special care to keep, what I thought was a fairly ridged and particularly precise schedule. We didn’t have a big flag, but it went up in the morning, long before I ever dragged myself out of bed. It turns out he was up early enough to position the flag by sun-up, which, as it turns out, is customary. It stayed there all day except on occasions of inclement weather, when it was brought in and put away early. You can get custom flags to be durable, but even all-weather flags can be damaged by severe storms. But, usually our flag stayed posted until sunset, which was also customary.
The flag is not to remain flying at night unless properly illuminated (usually requiring a special spot light) like the big flag at the capital or the giant custom flags that are flown around my hometown.
The Flag Code states that the flag should be flown on or near every polling place on election days, on or near the main administration building of all public institutions, and on or near every schoolhouse (during school days). The Flag Code also describes the flag as a living thing, which should therefore be treated with proper care and respect.
Flying the flag contrary to its intended orientation has, over the years been a sign of protest, discontent, and outrage, but is often viewed by enforcement and civilians alike as a breach of etiquette, unless as a sign of distress. The flag should always be displayed upright with the union to the top left

Flag at Half-Staff

Colonial Flag — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:58:48 +0000

Personal tragedy might create an opportunity for you to fly your flag at half-staff, but you might not know about other times when it would be necessary or appropriate to do so.
By a joint resolution approved in 1962, the President has been authorized and requested to designate May 15 of each year as “Peace Officers Memorial Day” and the week in which it falls as “Police Week.” The President will call upon all citizens to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities, and will also call on Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and other territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day and encourage all citizens to display the flag at half-staff from their homes and businesses on that day.
Other dates where it may be customary to fly your flag at half-staff are Memorial Day, (sunrise to noon) Patriot Day –September 11th , (sunrise to sunset) Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day -December 7th, (sunrise to sunset).
When flying your flag at half-staff it is suggested that it been flown there from sunrise to sunset, Memorial Day being the exception, when it is flown until noon. When raising the flag on a vertical pole, raise it briskly to the top of the flagpole for a moment before lowering it. When taking it down for the night, raise it to the top of the flagpole again and lower it to the bottom. When the United States flag is flown at half-staff, attention banners, state and other flags should be removed or flown at half-staff as well.
If your flag is a wall-mounted flag and can, therefore, not be lowered, it is appropriate to attach a black ribbon or streamer to the top of your flag. The ribbon should be the same length as your flag and the width should be the same as the stripes on your flag. Contact us at Colonial Flag for more tips on flag protocol, as well as customized flags and attention banners.

Decommission Your Flag

Colonial Flag — Sun, 20 May 2012 04:29:25 +0000

As the symbol for the United States, the flag should be treated respectfully, even though it may be faded, damaged or dirty and no longer fit to be displayed. There is, in fact, no set ceremony for decommissioning a flag, but there are some steps that are commonly used to lend the occasion a little more pomp and circumstance.
First you should choose a date and place for the event, such as Flag Day, or Memorial Day , and since flags are usually burned at the end of the decommissioning ceremony, you should choose a place with a fire pit or a steel drum or another safe place to burn the flag. Open the event to anyone, but request that all in attendance be dressed respectfully.
Next, you should present the flag to a couple of people who can inspect it and announce that it is no longer in condition for continued service and needs to be retired. Remember to handle the flag with respect, not allowing it to touch the ground. You can use a color guard to do this.
After the inspection, hoist the flag to the top of a flagpole. If you do not have a flagpole come to Colonial Flag where we have flagpoles for sales as well as big flags. Once the flag is hoisted, have someone, perhaps a military chaplain, say a brief prayer. (This step is optional) Someone else could then give a short speech about the importance of the flag. Have the participants then salute the flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by slowly lowering the flag and fold it in a rectangular shape.
After all is done burn the flag or dispose of it in another appropriate manner.
For more tips on flag etiquette come to Colonial Flag where we have big flags and flagpoles for sale.

Where Did the Stars and Stripes Come From?

Colonial Flag — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:53:13 +0000

Since the establishment of the thirteen colonies flags have been designed and redesigned to represent our independence from foreign powers, our independent ideals and our national identity as a whole. The current official U.S. flag is a 50 star flag, conceived by the need for a more practical design to accommodate new states entering the union. On April 4th, 1818, Congress established the number of stripes at seven red and six white, and provided the addition of one star for each new state. The thirteen stripes represent the original 13 colonies. The 50 star flag has been in use since July 4, 1960 when Hawaii officially joined the union.
During the Revolutionary War, the states fought under many flags. One of these flags, called the Grand Union, was flown on flagpoles over George Washington’s headquarters near Boston. It was the first American flag to be officially recognized by another country.

No one knows for sure who designed the first Stars and Stripes, or who made that first flag. Soon after the flag’s adoption by our new government, Congressman Francis Hopkinson claimed that he had designed it. It is also widely spread and commonly believed that Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, made the first U.S. flag.

On June 14, 1777, to establish an official flag of the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: “Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation. (making it significantly easier to sew on a new star and run it right back up the flagpole.)
Whoever it was that designed it, a flag with thirteen stars and thirteen stripes received its first salute from another country on February 14, 1778, when French vessels in Quiberon Bay, France, saluted John Paul Jones and his ship, “The Ranger.”

Dad’s Military Burial

Colonial Flag — Fri, 11 May 2012 05:09:12 +0000

When my dad died, the flag that covered his casket was folded and presented by the local VA to my mother. I wasn’t alive when my father retired from the military and military living was never part of my life. So, the military formality, with its perfect angles and precision movements was very inspiring. I was proud to be the son of a man who took his citizenship in the United States so seriously.
More than 40 million American men and women have defended the cause of freedom in the uniform of our Military Services. The flag that covers their casket upon death is a final tribute to the men and women who have secured the blessings of liberty. Though the privilege and tribute is not reserved exclusively for veterans, it is a special tribute the family of every veteran should be aware of and take advantage of.
The custom flag we owned was important in my house. The flagpole was a necessary fixture at every house we ever lived in. The flag was flown consistently and treated respectfully. It is a symbol of a country committed to the cause of extending liberty to all people, and it is a great honor to be numbered among that countries patriots in death.

Flags of Queen Elizabeth II

John Hartvigsen — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:04:33 +0000

She does not have a driver’s license or even a passport, but she travels without hindrance. She does not vote or have the right to express her political views publicly, but the political head of her government visits every Tuesday to personally consult with her, receive her personal encouragement and—when she feels it is necessary—be warned. The President of the United States as leader of the free world has only one flag to represent his office. She has more than a dozen flags and has flown many more flags during her lifetime. She is Queen Elizabeth II, by the grace of God Queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms. On February 6^th she celebrates 60 years as Queen.

Her first personal flag was as The Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of King George VI. It is the Royal Standard with the addition of a special emblem called a label. It shows two Saint George Crosses and a Tudor Rose in the middle. Had she been born a boy, that boy’s label would have been a plain white one and he would likely have been known as the Prince of Wales, as is Prince Charles today. Nevertheless, when her father died on the 6^th of February in 1952, she became Queen. Along with her father’s kingdom she inherited the Royal Standard which has been her main flag now for sixty years. There is also a Royal Standard made specifically to be displayed in Scotland. It gives precedence to the Scottish Lion over the three English lions. Elizabeth is also the Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and more than a dozen other nations. Many have a Royal Standard for Her Majesty to use when she visits. In countries where no Royal Standard has been adopted, Queen Elizabeth uses a simple blue flag with a crowned initial “E” encircled by a garland of golden roses.

In addition to being Queen, she bears a couple of masculine titles. She is the Duke of Lancaster and the Lord of the Isle of Man. There is a flag for each.

Still, Elizabeth II does not overdo her display of flags. She flies only one at a time to indicate her presence. The flag she flies depends on her location. If she visits in England or Scotland, she flies that Royal Standard. In her overseas Dominions she flies the appropriate Royal Standard for that nation if one exists. If there is not an appropriate Royal Standard, she displays her personal flag with her crowned initial letter “E” encircled by golden roses. Perhaps even then she felt she had one flag too many. The title and flag of the Lord High Admiral became vested in the Sovereign in 1964. For his ninetieth birthday in 2011 she gave that title to her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and with the title came the flag.

Elizabeth II has served her peoples in the United Kingdom and around the world with incredible energy and unswerving dedication. Colonial Flag Company and the British Pantry salute Queen Elizabeth and her flags. Long may they wave!

Monday Is Martin Luther King Day

flag-post.com — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:00:05 +0000

Many people have come and gone over the 1000’s of years we have been upon the earth. Few make their mark beyond being born, learn to be part of a family, work, marry, provide, enjoy life & retirement, grandchildren and then death. Every life is important and their contribution is immeasurable in histories large and continuing track. Every once in a while society is blessed or cursed with an individual who makes a difference for generations to come.

Martin Luther King is a man who strived to do good in a non-violent way to change the way the majority thought and acted. Behavior over a long period of time had been ingrained in a large part of society. Many wanted a separate but equal society, in the 60’s and for years before and some years after, it was separate, but not equal. On Monday, January 18th we celebrated Dr. King’s birth. In the early eighties the Congress approve and President Reagan signed the Martin Luther King holiday. Which some have called “Human Rights Day.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. - photograph taken in 1964.

Was Dr. King perfect, no, he was as human as the next individual; we have learned that he made the same mistakes as others who have had power put into their hands. But even with his personal faults he became the symbol of a people and a generation that strived for equality in treatment and behavior of all the people of the world.

President John F. Kennedy meets with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King's signature.

As Theodore Roosevelt said, he was a man in the arena, and he did not shirk from what he knew was right. Dr. King suffered verbal and physical attacks to him, his family and his co-workers. (Read the “I have a dream” speech) He was the youngest man to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize; he worked with John Kennedy to move the rights of minorities forward, and in 1965 he stood over President Johnson as he signed the Voters Rights Act a measure that was one of his key accomplishments.

President Ronald Reagan signs Martin Luther King Holiday Bill.

Like all men who stand against the status quo, he paid the highest price with his life. In this upcoming week, remember those who have made a difference and fly the flag.

Sunday Morning, December 7th, 1941

flag-post.com — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:35:43 +0000

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date, which will live in infamy” started Franklin Roosevelt’s address to Congress that opened World War II. A shocked America listened to their radio’s growing increasingly angry as they heard each word. People immediately rallied around their President and their Flag and then began grieving for the 2,403 Sailors, Soldiers and Marines killed in that attack.

"Honululu Star-Bulletin" on December 7th 1941.

Route followed by the Japanese fleet to Pearl Harbor and back.

As the fleet laid at anchored in a clam harbor the process of daily life was coming about. On the deck of the USS Arizona the band was playing the National Anthem as sailors were raising the flag when the first bullets were fired and bombs & torpedo’s dropped. The first ship hit by a torpedo in the attack was the aging target ship, and once proud Battleship Utah. She was a veteran of the Mexican conflict and World War I and the first causality of World War II. The Utah was hit first because she was on the opposite side of Battleship Row were the real targets where anchored, but she was closest to the on coming planes. The Utah like the USS Oklahoma was hit in such a fashion that she quickly rolled over facing straight down at berth. Many crew-members never made it out of their ships to see the light of another day.

Map of Ships in Pearl Harbor.

When the USS Arizona blew up as an enemy bomb pierce her deck and landed in her magazine full of munitions, the force of the explosion took the ship right up out of the water and almost broke in two. Her causality numbers were great. The Attack did not last long, but its impact was devastating.

Attack on Pearl Harbor.

USS Pennsylvania, behind the wreckage of the USS Downes and USS Cassin.

In the days that followed airplane hangers, and open yards where lined with wooded coffins draped in the red, white and blue of our proud Flag. So many wives, mothers and husbands heard the words of a military officer as they handed them a neatly folded flag. On behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful Nation, we present you this flag in honor of your son, daughter’s or husband’s service. Remember Pearl Harbor, and other phrases like remembering the Alamo, and Maine, and closer to our generation remember 9/11 should never be forgotten.

Be one of America’s proud defenders of liberty and freedom, fly the Flag!

The "tears of the Arizona" today - Photo by James G. Howes

An aerial view of the USS Arizona Memorial.

USS Utah in better times.

‘Hope Rising – To Lift A Nation’

Blair Spence — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 03:46:20 +0000

For me, a monument or commemorative statue is a symbol of something that needs remembered or affected people in a permanent way. The word ‘Monument’ has many connotations, but what does the term actually mean? There are several definitions, but here are just a few…

1. A structure, such as a building or sculpture, erected as a memorial.
2. An inscribed marker placed at a grave; a tombstone.
3. Something venerated for its enduring historic significance or association with a notable past person or thing: the architectural monuments of ancient Rome; traditions that are monuments to an earlier era.
4.a. An outstanding enduring achievement: a translation that is a monument of scholarship.
b. An exceptional example: “Thousands of them wrote texts, some of them monuments of dullness” (Robert L. Heilbroner).
5. An object, such as a post or stone, fixed in the ground so as to mark a boundary or position.

The ‘Hope Rising – To Lift A Nation’ monument fits many of these descriptions. It is partially a memorial, a commemorative figure reminding us of those that willingly gave their lives for others on that fateful day of 9/11. It echoes the solemnity of a tomb as stands as a marker for the dead, a tribute to the fallen. It aptly represents something of ‘enduring historic significance’ as it is a constant reminder of one of the events that shook the world forever. As far as an ‘outstanding enduring achievement’ goes, what greater achievement is there than instilling hope in others at their darkest hour?

For me, this monument is a tangible means by which to commemorate the dead, remember the past and look forward to the future with hope. In years to come my children will see it, and hopefully their children also, which encourages me that the lives lost and the lessons learn will not be forgotten. Let us always remember the day we lost so many, but stood together…

Decade of Healing Field Memorials in Sandy

flag-post.com — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:36:20 +0000

Across the vast grassy expanse in front of Sandy City Hall flew a blaze of red, white and blue in remembrance of the fallen. Marking the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks the flags each reverently bore the name of someone that lost their life at the World Trade Center, Pentagon or Shanksville. The field was a sight to behold as our great nation’s symbol of hope waved majestically across a quarter mile, that was filled with volunteers, patriots and those paying their respects. True to the name of the event, the Utah Healing Field Flag Display brought a sense of healing to more than one hundred thousand visitors.

This monumental display began on Wednesday September 7th with hundreds of local citizens helping post the 3000 flags. For many, the posting of the Stars and Stripes in Sandy has become a yearly tradition and reminder of the light that can rise from darkness. Some even take their Christmas card pictures at the field as a tribute to the fallen and a symbol of their support for the emergency responders that do such important work.

Memorial ceremonies began on Saturday and finished on Sunday evening, The morning of the first day, crowds gathered early in anticipation of events and needless to say, no one was disappointed. Over a thousand Harley Davidson bikers, led by a vintage fire engine and police motorcycle escort, paraded through the streets surrounding the Healing Field. Parking amid a display of emergency vehicles and military equipment, they joined the assembled visitors in honoring the victims and watching the unveiling of a new monument dedicated to emergency responders. The inspiring program was attended by three of Utah’s Congressional delegation, two general officers and even Miss Utah. A Life Flight helicopter circled the field in a fitting salute to those lost. The aircraft dipped in a respectful bow then disappeared out of sight.

Frank Layden, former basketball coach for the Utah Jazz, and long time resident of both Utah and the City of New York spoke to the assembled audience. He shared stories of his time in the firehouses near Ground Zero and touched the hearts of all who listened, with tales of bravery and sacrifice. He then introduced former Utah Jazz star Thurl Bailey, who graced the crowd with song as three thousand white balloons were released to the heavens. One for each lost soul.

Next came the great reveal, and after some brief words from Paul Swenson—the event’s creator and organizer- and sculptor Stan Watts, the statue was unveiled for all to see. The sudden appearance of the magnificent “Hope Rising—To Lift A Nation “ monument caused tears to well in many an eye and provided a lasting reminder of what regular Americans can do to lift and inspire others.

On Sunday, ceremonies included the reading of victim names, not forgetting Utah’s fallen soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. This ceremony attracted perhaps the largest group of Gold Star Mothers and families ever assembled in the Beehive State. In keeping with the theme of the monument, Utah’s Fallen Frontline Responders were also included in the reading of names.

There were feelings of sadness as the field of flags was lovingly taken down on Wednesday the 14th, though some local citizens got to start there very own field by purchasing a flag and taking it home. The grassy expanse looked bare and cold with out the familiar warmth of the Stars and Stripes to brighten it. Every day thousands of visitors had walked through the ordered rows of flags in the Healing Field as they read the nametags of the victims honored. Talking with Colonial Flag Foundation staff members, they all had a story to tell: where they were when they heard, who they had lost and who was saved. Smiles, tears and hugs characterized the emotions shared.

I encourage anyone who has yet to enjoy the experience of walking through these rows of flags to get to a local field and do so. Having a physical representation of each life that was lost will change you forever. Bring your children and your children’s children. If there is not a field near you then start one, the Colonial Flag Foundation can help. We must always remember the loss that day. Must honor them. Must heal. Let us never forget the day we lost so many… Yet stood together.