Old Glory, the symbol of our nation, has a long and storied history. A ceremony Oct. 20 at the Oak Harbor Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7392 focused on the Stars and Stripes from its beginning through retirement.
The observance was put together by post member Terry Lacey and featured the presentation of the 27 different versions of the American flag, a demonstration of the flag folding ceremony and a flag retirement ceremony.
“I just wanted to make people aware of some of the points of etiquette and the history of the flag,” said Lacey. “I’m just amazed at the history. There was a lot I didn’t know.”
27 Flags
For several years now, VFW Ladies Auxiliary member Judy Leu has been sharing the flag’s history in a program she put together called the “27 Flags.” She has spoken to numerous social and civic organizations, schools, church groups, retirement homes — anyone who is interested, basically.
A retired Army 1st Sgt., Leu said she never tires of the program and gets something different out of it each time she does a presentation.
“I love it,” she said simply. “The American Flag is the oldest and most recognized in the world.”
The small audience paid close attention to the presentation, which featured a replica of each of the 27 flags that have represented the United States, beginning with the original flag with 13 stars arranged in a circle to our present configuration of 50 stars.
There was no official policy on the order of the stars or the proportions of the flag until 1912, which made for some interesting variations.
The flag act of 1795 called for the flag to have 15 stars and 15 stripes, for instance.
“This was the flag carried into battle in the war of 1812 and the war with the Barbary states,” Leu said.
Interesting history
Other trivia in Leu’s presentation included information on the 21st version of our flag, which became obsolete in a mere six days, following Wyoming’s admittance to the union on July 10, 1890. The 25th flag, with 48 stars, had the longest reign before our current flag was born.
“The 48-star flag flew over Pearl Harbor in 1941 and it flew over the White House in 1945 when Japan accepted terms of surrender,” Leu said. “It flew for 47 years, through World War I, World War II and the Korean War.”
Following Leu’s presentation, members of the Whitehead-Muzzal Post performed the military flag-folding ceremony, as Lacey described what each fold represented. When finished, the triangular-shaped flag is reminiscent of the tri-cornered hats worn by Colonial soldiers during America’s battle for independence.
Into the flames
The ceremony concluded with the proper retirement of flags that have become unserviceable, which requires they be burned. As the flags were placed on the fire, Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 3rd Class Tony Moralez, from Maritime Patrol Squadron (VP) 40, played “Taps.”
Navy veteran Richard Church, who participated in the ceremony, had never seen a flag properly retired.
“It was very good,” he said.
Lacey said he hoped the different components of the event helped people understand the meaning behind Old Glory.
“I just hope that when people realize everything the flag symbolizes, they will care for it properly,” he said.
