WASHINGTON — On this Flag Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) not only salutes America’s banner of freedom, but also the nation’s first military branch to defend it – the United States Army.
On June 14, 1775, the following entry was written into the journal of the Second Continental Congress:
“Resolved, that six companies of expert rifleman, be immediately raised in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia … [and] as soon as completed, shall march and join the army near Boston, to be there employed as light infantry, under the command of the chief officer in that army."
This resolution gave birth to the Continental Army, changing the course of the war for American independence and the history of the world forever.
Exactly two years later, on June 14, 1777, Congress would pass another resolution, this time adopting a flag to represent the new nation.
“Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
The ‘Stars and Stripes’ as it was commonly called, not only symbolized the union of the thirteen colonies and their cause, but it also became the standard the ‘Continentals’ would bear into every battle defending American liberty. Even today, every American soldier carries the colors in the form of a U.S. flag patch on the right shoulder of their combat uniform. To learn about U.S. flag etiquette, visit the VFW flag etiquette webpage here.
The 1.5 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliary encourages every American to honor the colors that represent all of us and say ‘happy 248th birthday’ to every active, Guard and Reserve soldier and “Soldier For Life” of the nation’s oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
“This We’ll Defend!”