June 14th is Flag Day, but did you know that it is the US Army’s birthday? On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution creating a Continental Army.
When the British regulars and colonial minutemen exchanged gunfire in Massachusetts in April 1775, it soon became apparent that the colonies needed something more. “The colonies needed a force of professional soldiers who were trained, funded, and equipped for extended military maneuvers.” military.com. The colonies appealed to the Second Continental Congress delegates, and the resolution was passed. The very next day, June 15th, 1775, “the legislative body of the rebel colonies named George Washington to the post of chief officer of the new fighting force, citing the general’s patriotism, valor, conduct, and fidelity.” Although the Army’s birthday is not an official federal holiday, the Army and Department of Defense usually plan activities at the base and local levels.
The Flag Resolution was passed, and 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.”
An additional two stars (and two stripes) were added to the flag in 1795, following the admission of Vermont (1791) and Kentucky (1729) to the United States.
In 1818, the 20-star flag made its debut, but by 1819 the field grew to 21 and then to 23 on July 4, 1820.
In 1818, Congress decided that the number of stripes was to be reduced back to the original 13, and a new star would be added to the flag for each new state on July 4 the year after its admission to the union, said the Smithsonian.
The national flag of the United States consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton (referred to specifically as the “union”) bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from Great Britain and thus became the first states in the U.S.
My church (Turner Ridge Baptist) honors our veterans every Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day with a slide show of pictures. It’s awesome seeing the faces of Preston Farrer, George Parsons, Wesley Jenkins, Donnie Lovelace, Earl Lovelace, Kenny Showalter, Bill Thomas, and Fred Workman--people I knew, who have passed away. I cry every time. Mamie and Tom Jenkins had two TRBC sons who served—James as a paratrooper in WW2 and Wesley who worked on tanks stateside during the Korean War. They had two brothers-in-law who also served close to the same time (early 50s): Randell Middleton and John Schlueter. Randell served as part of the police action in Korea. He had amphibious tank training in California before going overseas. John also had tank training but went in after Randell and Wesley. John got to come in on leave to see his little girl Cindy when she was born, then it was off to Germany for another 18 months.
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Memorial Day around Los Angeles US, Japan Modernizing Military Alliance , Lloyd AustinSarah H
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