June 11, 2020

What So Proudly We Hail

Every morning at 0800, Sailors around the world hear the call to colors. They take a moment of silence, stop what they are doing, and stand at attention to salute the national ensign while the Star-Bangled Banner plays.Title 4, Section 6 of the United States Code (4 U.S.C. 6), states that "the flag represents a living country and is itself

Nov. 19, 2015

Does the Star Spangled Banner Still Wave on the Moon?

For this month's celebration of Flag Friday, what makes this particular flag stand out is not how old it is, but its location. Because a long time ago, in a dimension beyond earth-bound man, a flag waves boldly where only one other has gone before it - the moon.For most of you reading this blog, few may remember 46 years ago on Nov. 14, 1969, when

Aug. 7, 2015

Old Glory Continues to Inspire Drama and Intrigue

While many have called the American flag "Old Glory," few know how that nickname began. Fewer still know about the fight that continues today - 184 years later - over a the original flag that was first called "Old Glory." The drama of the flag began back in August 1831 when a young sea captain named William Driver was enjoying his birthday and a

July 24, 2015

Half-Mast or Half-Staff?

Blame the British. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, so wrote Shakespeare for his epic teenage romance Romeo and Juliet. That might have flown by people back in the 1600s, but in a day when we chat in cryptic alphabets and abbreviations, don't let anyone confuse ?half-mast? and ?half-staff.? The Brits and most of Europe, not unlike the

July 15, 2015

U.S. Flag Once Featured Stripes of a Different Color

What??We know, it's a lot to take in, but it' true. Our flag has gone through many iterations throughout the years. Changes in stripes, changes in stars and at one point, it even sported a different color stripe beyond the iconic 13 red and white stripes of today.As our country marched ever closer to independence, our flag evolved from the British