I am the Flag
by Ruth Apperson Rous

• I am the flag of the United States of America.

• I was born on June 14, 1777, in Philadelphia.

• There the Continental Congress adopted my stars and stripes as the national flag.

• My thirteen stripes alternating red and white, with a union of thirteen white stars in a field of blue, represented a new constellation, a new nation dedicated to the personal and religious liberty of mankind.

• Today fifty stars signal from my union, one for each of the fifty sovereign states in the greatest constitutional republic the world has ever known.

• My colors symbolize the patriotic ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of my country.

• My red stripes proclaim the fearless courage and integrity of American men and boys and the self-sacrifice and devotion of American mothers and daughters.

• My white stripes stand for liberty and equality for all.

• My blue is the blue of heaven, loyalty, and faith.

• I represent these eternal principles: liberty, justice, and humanity.

• I embody American freedom: freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the press, and the sanctity of the home.

• I typify that indomitable spirit of determination brought to my land by Christopher Columbus and by all my forefathers - the Pilgrims, Puritans, settlers at James town and Plymouth.

• I am as old as my nation.

• I am a living symbol of my nation's law: the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

• I voice Abraham Lincoln's philosophy: "A government of the people, by the people, for the people."

• I stand guard over my nation's schools, the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism.

• I am displayed in every schoolroom throughout my nation; every schoolyard has a flag pole for my display.

• Daily thousands upon thousands of boys and girls pledge their allegiance to me and my country.

• I have my own law—Public Law 829, "The Flag Code" - which definitely states my correct use and display for all occasions and situations.

• I have my special day, Flag Day. June 14 is set aside to honor my birth.

• Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow.

• I am your title deed of freedom, which is yours to enjoy and hold in trust for posterity.

• If you fail to keep this sacred trust inviolate, if I am nullified and destroyed, you and your children will become slaves to dictators and despots.

• Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom.

• As you see me silhouetted against the peaceful skies of my country, remind yourself that I am the flag of your country, that I stand for what you are - no more, no less.

• Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth.

• Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

• I was created in freedom. I made my first appearance in a battle for human liberty.

• God grant that I may spend eternity in my "land of the free and the home of the brave" and that I shall ever be known as "Old Glory," the flag of the United States of America.
  
  

The Flag of the United States of America

I am the flag of the United States of America.
My name is Old Glory.
I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.
I stand watch in America's halls of justice.
I fly majestically over institutions of learning.
I stand guard with power in the world.
Look up and see me.

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice.
I stand for freedom.
I am confident.
I am arrogant.
I am proud.

When I am flown with my fellow banners,
My head is a little higher,
My colors a little truer.

I bow to no one!
I am recognized all over the world.
I am worshipped - I am saluted.
I am loved - I am revered.
I am respected - and I am feared.

I have fought in every battle of every war
for more then 200 years.
I was flown at Valley Forge,
Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appomattox.

I was there at San Juan Hill,
the trenches of France,
in the Argonne Forest,
Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy.
Guam, Okinawa, Korea and
KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me.
I was there.

I led my troops, I was dirty, battle worn and tired,
But my soldiers cheered me and I was proud.
I have been burned, torn and trampled on the
streets of countries I have helped set free.
It does not hurt for I am invincible.

I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and
trampled in the streets of my country.
And when it's done by those
Whom I've served in battle - it hurts.

But I shall overcome - for I am strong.
I have slipped the bonds of Earth
and stood watch over the uncharted
frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon.

I have borne silent witness to all of America's finest hours.
But my finest hours are yet to come.
When I am torn into strips and used as bandages
for my wounded comrades on the battlefield,

When I am flown at half-mast to honor my soldier,
Or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent
at the grave of their fallen son or daughter,
I am proud.