Flag news
WWII Veteran’s Military Shadow Box & American Flag Rescued from House Fire
Military shadow boxes are designed to protect and display the most special American flags. Often they hold the flags of veterans. Sometimes those memorial flags rest atop the caskets of veterans who have passed. These flags are irreplaceable and deserve the most special treatment and protection.
This Christmas, a military shadow box protecting a very special American flag was rescued from the flames of a house fire and certain destruction. The flag had draped over the casket of WWII Army Air Corps veteran and POW Forest Clifford Corley. Following his interment, the flag and military medals were placed into a shadow box and displayed at the Rome, Georgia, home of the veteran’s grandson, Army veteran David Corley. When Corley’s home caught fire, the shadow box and the irreplaceable American flag inside were in danger of burning up with the house.
Fortunately, local Floyd County firefighters were quickly on the scene. Upon entering the house, they immediately worked to extinguish the fire. But firefighters also spotted the military shadow box, its military medals, and the American flag inside. The shadow box and flag were near a fireplace that started the fire, and the fire was already reaching the flag case and its flag. The firefighters immediately recognized the importance of the flag. Knowing the flag was irreplaceable, they made rescuing the flag a top priority along with extinguishing the fire.
The fire crew was led by Battalion Chief Danny Lee, who himself is a veteran. Lee said his firefighters know he’s a veteran and that they knew Lee would have seen the military heirlooms if they had been left behind. Presumably that wouldn’t have gone over well back at the firehouse. “Replacing (that American flag) is not an option,” Lee said. The firefighters treated the flag case, military medals and American flag with great honor and dignity.
Corley’s wife Amanda was moved to see the dignity and respect with which the firefighters treated the American flag, shadow box and military medals. She said that when firefighters removed the military shadow box, they carried it “like a child.” She said one firefighter carefully removed the flag from the box and began patting it down with water. She said it was “like watching them work with a human,”
“(The firefighters) saw that (the military shadow box) was there and wanted to make sure they did everything to preserve it,” Lee said. “They handled the heirloom while extinguishing the fire … (and) were able to give it back to the family that evening.”
Among other possessions, the family lost all the Christmas presents for their three boys in the blaze. News of the fire was broken to Corley as he was on a truck driving run through Missouri. His wife Amanda told him his family was safe, and that despite what was lost in the fire, his grandfather’s American flag, medals and shadow box were safe, and that “those memories will always be there.”
“They went above and beyond,” Corley said in a voice choked with emotion. “I can’t thank them enough.”
Corley said his grandfather rarely spoke of his experiences in the U.S. Army Air Corps. His grandfather’s American flag, military medals, knife, and 21-gun salute shell casings are some of the few remaining memories of Forest’s service. As an Army veteran himself, the American flag already holds a special place in his heart.
“My grandfather, myself, my nephew, my mom, my dad, my step-dad, the millions of current and former, they served for that flag,” Corley said with deep emotion.
Because the flag received damage, Corley said he plans to retire the flag and place a new American flag inside his grandfather’s military shadow box.
Donald Trump: Americans Burning US Flag Should Go to Jail, Lose Citizenship
President-elect Donald Trump has released a statement calling for stiff penalties for those who burn the American flag. Trump’s proposal states the act of burning an American flag should be a crime — presumably a nationwide Federal crime — hand-in-hand with with harsh punishments for those who would violate the imagined new law prohibiting burning an American flag.
Trump Demands American Flag Burners be Criminally Charged and Punished
In an early morning Twitter post on Nov. 29, 2016, Trump wrote: “Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag — if they do, there must be consequences — perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!”
Trump’s Possible Motivations for Seeking to Criminalize Burning the American Flag
It is unknown what event if any may have inspired Mr. Trump to write the tweet, but it may have been in response to recent events at Hampshire College in Massachusetts where an American flag was burned. School administrators took down all flags on campus after students set an American flag on fire.
Mr. Trump has long been a vocal proponent of putting America first. Presumably he intends to extend new circles of protection around not just the nation as a whole, but also to the symbol of the United States, our American flag.
While Mr. Trump did not serve in the military, he did attend a military academy in his youth that may have played a part in molding his love of country and his desire that the American flag be respected and protected.
Donald Trump Considers Various Punishments for Flag Burners
Mr. Trump’s statement suggests that the President-elect and use of the word “perhaps” may imply Mr. Trump has not decided on the exact nature of the punishment he wishes to impose on those who would burn an American flag. However, Mr. Trump seems to have narrowed down some top contenders for punishments for flag burning. Due to the short nature of posting on Twitter, there exists only a limited amount of information within the tweet. We are left in a position of interpretation as to the characteristics of any proposed new laws Mr. Trump would seek to to prohibit and punish those who would burn an American flag.
Trump: A Year In Jail for Flag Burners
Among the proposed punishments for burning an American flag, Mr. Trump proposes a year in jail. It is unclear whether Mr. Trump envisions that violators convicted of flag burning would be sentenced to serve time in a federal penitentiary, as is the case for violators of federal laws who are sentenced to imprisonment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency charged with the administration of the federal prison system. The F.O.B is also a subdivision of the United States Department of Justice. The Justice Department is headed by the Attorney General. A new Attorney General will be nominated by now President-elect Donald Trump after Mr. Trump is sworn in and takes office. If President Trump wishes to aggressively pursue making American flag burning a federal crime, it would be Trump’s Justice Department and its head, the Attorney General, who would be the spearhead of any such effort. If new anti-flag-burning laws were proposed on the local level, their jurisdiction would be limited to the areas in which the laws were passed and would not cover the nation as a whole. The term “jail time” usually refers to the local county or city jail system, in which convicts, or those held in custody while awaiting trial, are imprisoned usually for terms not exceeding one year. Typically those convicted of crimes and sentenced to periods in excess of one year are remanded to the custody of the state prison system.
Trump: Loss of Citizenship for Burning the American Flag
President-elect Trump also proposes that anyone burning an American flag may be subject to loss of United States citizenship as punishment. It is unclear whether this punishment would be combined with the possible year-long imprisonment.
The Constitutionality of Stripping American Citizens of their Citizenship as Punishment
In 1958, the Supreme Court ruled that losing one’s citizenship as a form of punishment fell within the purview of the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. During World War II, a private in the US Army who deserted from a stockade in Morocco and surrendered the next day was court martialed, convicted of desertion, and sentenced to three years hard labor, loss of pay, and dishonorable discharge. When he tried to obtain a passport years later, in 1952, he was denied on the grounds that a soldier who deserts loses his citizenship, as prescribed in the Nationality Act of 1940. Lower courts supported the Government’s stance. However, when the case wound up in the Supreme Court, the justices ruled 5-4 that revoking citizenship as a form of punishment is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote that “denationalization as a punishment is barred by the Eighth Amendment.” He went on to describe such punishment as “a form of punishment more primitive than torture” because it evokes the “total destruction of the individual’s status in organized society.” Dissenting Justice Felix Frankfurter noted that desertion can be punished by death, and reasoned that losing one’s citizenship could not be seen as a fate worse than death. He wrote, “Is constitutional dialectic so empty of reason that it can be seriously urged that loss of citizenship is a fate worse than death?”
One of Felix Frankfurter’s fellow Supreme Court judges, Hugo Black, wrote: “Citizenship is no light trifle to be jeopardized any moment Congress decides to do so under the name of one of its general or implied grants of power.”
Officials Respond to Trump’s Call to Criminalize Burning American Flag
Current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who also voted against the 2006 proposed Amendment, responded when asked at a press availability function about Donald Trump’s comments:
“The Supreme Court has held that that activity is a protected First Amendment right, a form of unpleasant speech, and in this country we have a long tradition of respecting unpleasant speech. I happen to support the Supreme Court’s decision on that matter,” McConnell said. In a 2006 op-ed, McConnell wrote, “No act of speech is so obnoxious that it merits tampering with our First Amendment. Our Constitution, and our country, is stronger than that. Ultimately, people like that pose little harm to our country. But tinkering with our First Amendment might.”
Trump senior communications advisor Jason Miller was pressed about Trump’s comments on CNN, responding that “Chris, flag burning is completely ridiculous. And I think you know that and I think the vast majority of Americans would agree,” Miller told CNN anchor Chris Cuomo. “Flag burning should be illegal,” Miller concluded. “End of story.”
Senator John McCain, who fought in the Vietnam war and was taken prisoner, and who has clashed with Trump during the campaign, said, “I do not approve of burning the flag. I think there should be some punishment, but right now, the Supreme Court decision is that people are free to express themselves that way.”
Supreme Court Rulings Protecting Flag Burning under First Amendment
Flag burning has been ruled on multiple occasions by the United States Supreme Court to be a Constitutionally-protected form of Free Speech, protected under the First Amendment. Multiple Supreme Court decisions have found flag burning to be protected under the First Amendment. In 1989, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that criminalized flag burning. The 5-to-4 decision held that burning an American flag is protected under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court ruling protecting flag burning as protected Free Speech was reaffirmed in 1990. In both cases, the Supreme Court ruled that burning a flag is an act of expression and “symbolic speech,” which falls under First Amendment protections.
Congress Votes to Protect American Flag from Desecration
Congress passed the first Flag Protection Act in 1968 in response to anti-Vietnam War demonstrations at which the American flag was sometimes burned in protest to the United States’ involvement in the war. In time, 48 of 50 U.S. States passed similar state laws. All of these statutes were overturned by the Supreme Court 20 years later, following the Supreme Court overturning the conviction of Gregory Lee Johnson, who was charged with burning an American flag in Texas in protest of President Ronald Reagan’s policies. Congress responded by passing another Flag Protection Act, which was also found to be unconstitutional.
Supreme Court First Ruled to Protect Flag Burning in 1989
The Supreme Court first ruled that flag burning is a form of symbolic free speech protected under the First Amendment in 1989, and then re-affirmed in a second Supreme Court in 1990. The individual who burned the American flag in the 1989 case was filmed again burning an American flag outside the Republican National Convention this past summer, where he accidentally lit himself on fire and was extinguished by police. He burned another American flag outside the Democratic National Convention.
Many Attempts to Criminalize Flag Burning – Including by Hillary Clinton
The first flag In the years following the Supreme Court ruling that burning an American flag is a protected form of symbolic free speech, there have been multiple proposed bills to amend the Constitution to make burning an American flag a crime. From 1995 through 2005, the House of Representatives biennially passed a Flag Protection Bill by the required 2/3 majority vote, but the bill always failed to hit the required supermajority in the Senate.
The proposed Amendment has passed the United States House of Representatives several times. The full text of the Amendment reads:
The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.
The definition of “desecration” is open to some debate. For example, it remains an open question as to whether flags such as that depicted below, with corporate logos in place of stars, would be considered desecration.
Although the topic of flag burning or flag desecration was not discussed in the Presidential debates, former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton presumably holds the same view as Donald Trump that burning of an American flag should be illegal and criminalized. In 2005, then-Senator Hillary Clinton co-sponsored legislation that if passed would have criminalized flag burning. The bill was called the Flag Protection Act. If passed, the bill would have provided for punishments for flag burning of up to $100,000 and imprisonment of up to a year — potentially both. The bill was never presented to Congress and as such was not passed. The Supreme Court never had the opportunity to determine the constitutionality of the bill because it was not passed by both houses of Congress, as is required for a bill to become law. Then-Senator Clinton voted against a similar bill that came to the floor of the Senate in 2006. Over many years, there have been several bills that proposed a Constitutional Amendment to prohibit or criminalize burning an American flag. None has passed.
Americans Respond in Polls to Flag Burning Amendments
In 1999, A Gallup Poll indicated that 63% of Americans favored an Amendment to the Constitution to make burning an American flag illegal. A Summer 205 poll by the First Amendment Center found that 63% of Americans opposed such a flag protection amendment.
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Scalia Defends his Decision to Side to Protect Flag Burning
Even conservative Justice Antonin Scalia agreed with the majority of the Court that flag burning could not be made illegal without violating an individual’s First Amendment rights protecting Free Speech. Scalia said he based his decision on a textual interpretation of the Constitution. Years later in 2015, Scalia said, “If it were up to me, I would put in jail every sandal-wearing, scruffy-bearded weirdo who burns the American flag. But I am not king.”
In a 2012 interview with CNN, Scalia said, “If I were king, I would not allow people to go around burning the American flag. However, we have a First Amendment which says that the right of free speech shall not be abridged. And it is addressed, in particular, to speech critical of the government. I mean that was the main kind of speech that tyrants would seek to suppress. Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn’t just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. Burning a flag is a symbol that expresses an idea. ‘I hate the government, the government is unjust,’ or whatever.”
Any New Flag Burning Laws Likely to be Challenged
Any new laws proposing loss of citizenship as a form of punishment for burning the American flag would likely find themselves facing a challenge within the United States Supreme Court. Loss of citizenship for flag burning would likely be challenged as being unconstitutional on the grounds of cruel and unusual punishment.
Any new federal or local laws seeking to criminalize the burning or desecration of American flags would also likely find themselves challenged for their constitutionality based on the previous Supreme Court decisions which protect flag burning as a symbolic act protected under Free Speech.
Trump Likely to Have Chance to Nominate Supreme Court Justice Willing to Criminalize Flag Burning
That Mr. Trump will likely have the opportunity to nominate at least one new Supreme Court justice could potentially have an effect on how the Court could rule on any new flag burning laws or amendments. It remains to be seen if President-elect Trump will use a potential nominee’s stance on flag burning as a qualification for consideration.
Flag Burning Demonstrator Set Supreme Court Precedent
An American flag burning demonstration outside this year’s Republican National Convention was led by a man named Gregory Lee “Joey” Johnson, who lit the American flag on fire, and who also accidentally lit his pants on fire. Johnson also burned an American flag in protest in front of the RNC in 1984, in Dallas, Texas. He was arrested, charged with burning the American flag, and the case wound up in the Supreme Court, centering around the question of whether burning the American flag is protected speech under the First Amendment.
Johnson has been involved previously with flag burning. In 1984, Johnson set an American flag on fire outside the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, in protest of the policies of President Ronald Reagan. Police arrested Johnson and charged him with violating a Texas statute protecting venerated objects, including the American flag, from desecration, if such action were likely to incite anger. After a Texas court tried and convicted Johnson, he appealed, arguing that his actions were “symbolic speech” protected by the First Amendment. In 1989, The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
In a tight 5-4 decision, the majority of the Court, according to Justice William Brennan, agreed with Johnson that flag burning is “symbolic speech” protected under the First Amendment. The court majority wrote that that freedom of speech protects forms of expression that may offend society, such as burning of the American flag, but that such offense or outrage is alone is not sufficient cause to suppress free speech.
The majority also took note issue with the fact that the Texas law pivoted upon perspective — for example, that burning a worn-out American flag (as is a proper disposal of an American flag) was exempted from the law, but that such action would be punishable if it might evoke anger in others. The majority wrote that government could not discriminate in this manner based solely upon viewpoint.
Writing for the dissent, Justice Stevens argued that the flag’s unique status as a symbol of national unity outweighed “symbolic speech” concerns, and thus, the government could lawfully prohibit flag burning.
This video goes into greater detail about the precedent-setting flag burning case.
ALERT: President Orders Flags To Half Staff for France
In honor of the victims of the attack in Nice, France, President Obama has ordered all flags to be flown at half-staff through sunset, July 19, 2016.
The last half-staff proclamation, issued in response to the Texas shooting, was in effect through sunset, July 12, 2016.
This is the text of the current proclamation:
Presidential Proclamation — Honoring the Victims of the Attack in Nice, France
HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE ATTACK IN NICE, FRANCE
– – – – – – –
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As a mark of respect for the victims of the attack perpetrated on July 14, 2016, in Nice, France, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, July 19, 2016. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
BARACK OBAMA
Memorial Flag Stolen from Family of Missing Vietnam War Sailor
Memorial flags are presented by the military to the families of those who have served and passed. A memorial flag was the only remaining physical connection a North Wildwoods, New Jersey family had to their 19 year old brother who perished during the Vietnam War in a maritime disaster in the South China Sea. After the disaster, the Navy presented Patrick’s family with the memorial flag. That memorial flag was stolen this Fourth of July.
historic tragedy at sea
Patrick Corcoran perished while serving aboard the USS Frank E. Evans. In the early morning hours of June 3, 1969, during coordinated maneuvers with five other ships in the South China Sea, with all ships running deliberately without lights, the Evans mistook her own position and turned in front of an Australian aircraft carrier, the HMAS Melbourne, and was cut in half. While the stern of the ship remained afloat, and many survivors therein, the bow portion of the ship immediately sank, taking down with her the lives of 67 sailors, 14 officers, and one civilian. Patrick was asleep in his bunk at the time of the accident. His body was never found.
The American flag presented by the military to Corcoran’s family is only physical item of his that the family have to remember Patrick. The family has been flying the flag outside every year, every Memorial Day, for years, in memory of Patrick. Because it rained this year on Memorial Day, the flag was flown on the Fourth of July instead. The flag vanished from atop its flagpole in the middle of the night. A neighbor noticed it was missing while having his coffee early the morning of July 4th.
“We have nothing of Patrick’s. The connection to our brother Patrick is the flag,” said brother Tom Corcoran.
“This is all we had of Patrick. We had no body, we had nothing,” sister Suzanne Meissler said.
“Sadly, in today’s society, there is no respect for the flag or the country anymore,” said John Coffey, a spokesman for the USS Frank E. Evans Association. “A life was given in order for this particular flag to be flown.”
memorial flag returned
After the story went public, it went viral. North Wildwood police publically promised to drop the matter if the flag was returned before their investigation concluded. Several days later, the flag was returned in a box and left on a rocker by a woman who said “this is yours.”The flag was positively identified as the correct American flag based on markings on the flag’s brass grommets and POW/MIA markings.
The flag was well cared for by whoever stole it, according to local radio host and Vietnam veteran Joe Griffies. “It was folded very neatly. We can tell that they put it in the box with respect,” Griffies said.
The return of his brother’s flag was described by Corcoran as “unbelievable for me, my family, Patrick, and his friends. It’s just been amazing. This could not have been done without a team effort.”
The big question for the family has been whether this special American flag will continue to be flown outside even after this experience. “The question I have been asked since the flag has been returned is will the flag fly or will it be stored? This flag will be flown every Memorial Day every year, weather permitting, and if the weather does not permit, it will be flown on the 4th of July,” Tom Corcoran said.
North Wildwood Mayor Patrick T. Rosenello said in a statement, “Although I would never condone theft of any kind, the perpetrator(s) recognized that a mistake was made, and attempted to make things right by returning the flag without any requests for an award, and for that I give them credit.”
“I’m just happy they turned a wrong into a right. We’ve all made mistakes in our lives,” Corcoran said.
quest for vietnam memorial recognition
Now that the family’s flag has been returned, their eyes return to their current quest: to get the names of the 74 sailors added to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.
For years, the family and the Evans Association have fought to have the lives lost at sea that night be recognized by the military. Defense Department’s casualty list hasn’t included the Evans casualties because the accident occurred outside the official combat zone.
Because of this, Patrick’s name, and the names of the others lost that night, have yet to be included on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
“Seventy-four sailors lost their lives. The government will not put their names on the wall,” Tom Corcoran said.
This is Patrick:
The American flag is unlike any other object
We learned recently of Samuel Adams’ struggle to display his flag at his Colorado apartment complex. In the notice he received, references were made to regulations barring clutter, drying laundry, dead plants, garbage and gasoline.
We strenuously resist the comparison of an American flag any other ordinary mundane object. The American flag is both a collective symbol of our united nation. The American flag is also a symbol of unique meaning for every person, a unique expression of Patriotism, uniquely flown, uniquely experienced. Every American has a connection to the American flag, because it stands for each of us, both symbolically, collectively, and uniquely as individuals. We all have our own connections to the American flag. Many have died in defense of this Flag and what it stands for. And for all these reasons, and because the American flag occupies a singular and unique place in the hearts and minds of the American people, because it is a living breathing American monument which can be erected at any time by anyone in any place, we consider flying or displaying an American Flag to be an expression of Constitutionally-protected Free Speech
Samuel Adams Rebels against Flag Take-down order (VIDEO)
Colorado resident Samuel Adams wanted to display an American flag on his own balcony in preparation for the 4 July Independence Day celebrations. His grandfather was a surgeon during World War I. His dad also served. He’s patriotic individual who wishes to display the flag of our Country.
Unfortunately, the management of his apartment complex apparently has an issue with him displaying his American flag from his own balcony, mentioning violations of regulations concerning the storage of trash, drying laundry, clutter, gasoline and dead plants. We’re quite certain the American flag is none of these things.
Read our detailed analysis of the letter he received here.
Samuel Adams Defies Orders to Remove American Flag
A Colorado man named after Founding Father Samuel Adams is defying his apartment complex’s request to remove his 3X5 American flag from his balcony railing. Here’s Samuel reading the letter he got from management.
Samuel Adams had hung the flag only recently on his apartment balcony railing in support of the then-upcoming 4th of July Independence Day celebrations. He immediately got a nice little official notice of wrongdoing.
Here’s the letter he got (emphasis is ours):
“Dear Samuel,
Please be advised that it has come to management’s attention that you have an American flag on the balcony/patio area. Your signed Community Policies states, ‘The use of balconies and patios for the purpose of storage and/or laundry drying is prohibited. Breezeways are not to be used as a patio or storage. Please do not clutter with personal belongings. Balconies and patios must be maintained in a neat, clean and attractive condition. Outdoor and/or patio furniture is welcomed on your patio or balcony only. Gasoline and other hazardous materials are not to be stored in your apartment or storage area. Retain from having dead plants, boxes or garbage on balcony/patios at any time.’ We appreciate your prompt attention and cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact myself or the office. Thank you.”
Excuse us? Is displaying the American Flag possibly being lumped in with storage, drying laundry, dead plants and garbage? Please tell us it isn’t so. The American Flag is unlike any other object.
Notice the strange wording of the letter. Notice that they say that it has come to their attention that an American flag is being displayed on his patio. And then they further go on to list a number of regulations which have nothing to do with an American flag on his patio. They list regulations concerning the storage of gasoline and trash and clutter and laundry drying and dead plants. None of this has anything to do with displaying an American flag, and frankly we think it’s disgusting to even lump in an American flag with clutter and dead plants and garbage.
The most charitable response to this letter would be, “Yes, I have an American flag on my balcony/patio area. Thank you for noticing it. Thank you also for reminding me of the regulations concerning dead plants, garbage, clutter, drying laundry, etc. I’m not sure why you felt the need to remind me, but I am happy to report to you that none of these regulations has been violated, and none are being violated now.”
The management claims to have no issues with residents flying the American flag but claims it has very strict rules about what can be hung from balconies. Apparently small American flags do not qualify. And one would wonder where else he should display his flag than on his balcony.
Patio furniture is apparently welcomed.
“Balconies and patios must be maintained in a neat, clean and attractive condition,” the notice reads.
Can’t a balcony displaying an American flag also be neat, clean and attractive? Well of course it can, and we specialize in that every day. But as Americans, we’re concerned about the frivolous, dismissive, ungenerous attitude toward the flag, and the genuine patriotism in the hearts of those who wish to display the American flag.
This Samuel Adams come from a family heritage of service. His father was a dentist in the U.S. Navy. His grandfather was a surgeon in the U.S. Army during World War I (and one can only imagine what kind of patriotism and sacrifice would be witnessed by a wartime surgeon, especially under the brutal conditions of the first World War).
Adams says he has received support from veterans and military families.
“I have never done anything like this before,” Adams told his newspaper. “But it was the right time and it was the right moment. I wanted to be a patriotic American and give tribute to our Founding Fathers and our veterans, and to have (management) say the flag is inappropriate or comparable to trash is reprehensible to me.”
It’s reprehensible to us too. But something tells us that this Samuel Adams’ revolution isn’t finished yet.
Keep up the fight, Sam. We’re all behind you.
“Dear Samuel,
Please be advised that it has come to management’s attention that you have an American flag on the balcony/patio area. Your signed Community Policies states, ‘The use of balconies and patios for the purpose of storage and/or laundry drying is prohibited. Breezeways are not to be used as a patio or storage. Please do not clutter with personal belongings. Balconies and patios must be maintained in a neat, clean and attractive condition. Outdoor and/or patio furniture is welcomed on your patio or balcony only. Gasoline and other hazardous materials are not to be stored in your apartment or storage area. Retain from having dead plants, boxes or garbage on balcony/patios at any time.’ We appreciate your prompt attention and cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact myself or the office. Thank you.”
US Marine Rescues American Flag On 4th of July (Video)
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran rescued an American flag from a highway near Spokane, Washington, this 4th of July. The flag had detached from the vehicle of its owner, a young man named Dallas Pierce, who lost it returning from a trip to a swimming hole, and who doubled back ten miles to find the flag, but to no avail. When the veteran, Nathan Sheets, returned the flag to Pierce, the young man was overwhelmed. “People die, not necessarily for the flag but they die for their brothers, for their families, and they go fight for it, but the flag symbolizes that,” Pierce said.
Check out the full story with video from KREM News in Spokane.
Presidential Proclamation Directs Flags to be Flown at Half-Staff
President Obama has issued a Presidential Proclamation ordering flags to be flown at half-staff till sunset Tuesday, July 16th, as a mark of respect of the victims of the attack on police officers in Dallas, Texas, on July 7th, 2016.
The text of the Proclamation follows:
Presidential Proclamation — Honoring the Victims of the Attack in Dallas, Texas
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As a mark of respect for the victims of the attack on police officers perpetrated on Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Dallas, Texas, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, July 12, 2016. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
BARACK OBAMA
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