UNITED STATES — June 14 is Flag Day in the United States, honoring the adoption of the first U.S. flag by the Second Continental Congress.
June 14 is also the U.S. Army’s birthday. On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress adopted “the American Continental Army.”
At the beginning of the American Revolution, prior to the formation of the Continental Army, colonist regimes fought under their own flags. The newly formed army then fought under one flag, the Continental Colors. It was quickly understood, however, that the flag, with 13 red and white stripes and a Union Jack in the corner, was too similar to the British flag.
While famed Revolutionary War seamstress Betsy Ross is widely accepted as the creator of the first American flag, the story might not be entirely supported by historical evidence. The lesser-known Francis Hopkinson, a delegate from New Jersey who signed the Declaration of Independence, is credited with designing the first American flag.
On June 14, 1777, Congress passed the Flag Resolution that stated, “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.”
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day. Then, in 1949, National Flag Day was established by Congress but Flag Day is not an official federal holiday.
The flag had accrued 48 stars to represent the 48 states in the union by the time Flag Day was established in 1949, according to the Smithsonian, which lays out the star timeline in this handy chart.
In the 1950s, 17-year-old Ohio student Bob Heft borrowed his mother’s sewing machine and added two additional stars, making 50, in a proportional pattern. Alaska was in the midst of moving from a territory to a state and Heft expected Hawaii would also soon become a state.
Heft’s new flag was passed along by his teacher to his congressman and eventually to President Eisenhower after Alaska and Hawaii became states. Eisenhower selected Heft’s design and on July 4, 1960. The two raised the new 50-star flag for the first time.
A flag disposal box was installed in Teton County at the County Administration Building in June 2022. The public can place worn-out flags in the flag box any time during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This year, the Jackson Hole Elks Lodge will host a Flag Day ceremony on Town Square at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“This ritual is a reminder of the heritage of our Stars and Stripes,” the Elks posted to Facebook.
