This monumental display began on Wednesday September 7th with hundreds of local citizens helping post the 3000 flags. For many, the posting of the Stars and Stripes in Sandy has become a yearly tradition and reminder of the light that can rise from darkness.  Some even take their Christmas card pictures at the field as a tribute to the fallen and a symbol of their support for the emergency responders that do such important work.

Memorial ceremonies began on Saturday and finished on Sunday evening, The morning of the first day, crowds gathered early in anticipation of events and needless to say, no one was disappointed.  Over a thousand Harley Davidson bikers, led by a vintage fire engine and police motorcycle escort, paraded through the streets surrounding the Healing Field.  Parking amid a display of emergency vehicles and military equipment, they joined the assembled visitors in honoring the victims and watching the unveiling of a new monument dedicated to emergency responders.  The inspiring program was attended by three of Utah’s Congressional delegation, two general officers and even Miss Utah.  A Life Flight helicopter circled the field in a fitting salute to those lost.  The aircraft dipped in a respectful bow then disappeared out of sight.

Frank Layden, former basketball coach for the Utah Jazz, and long time resident of both Utah and the City of New York spoke to the assembled audience.  He shared stories of his time in the firehouses near Ground Zero and touched the hearts of all who listened, with tales of bravery and sacrifice.  He then introduced former Utah Jazz star Thurl Bailey, who graced the crowd with song as three thousand white balloons were released to the heavens.  One for each lost soul.

Next came the great reveal, and after some brief words from Paul Swenson—the event’s creator and organizer-  and sculptor Stan Watts, the statue was unveiled for all to see.  The sudden appearance of the magnificent “Hope Rising—To Lift A Nation “ monument caused tears to well in many an eye and provided a lasting reminder of what regular Americans can do to lift and inspire others.

On Sunday, ceremonies included the reading of victim names, not forgetting Utah’s fallen soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.  This ceremony attracted perhaps the largest group of Gold Star Mothers and families ever assembled in the Beehive State.  In keeping with the theme of the monument, Utah’s Fallen Frontline Responders were also included in the reading of names.

There were feelings of sadness as the field of flags was lovingly taken down on Wednesday the 14th, though some local citizens got to start there very own field by purchasing a flag and taking it home.  The grassy expanse looked bare and cold with out the familiar warmth of the Stars and Stripes to brighten it.  Every day thousands of visitors had walked through the ordered rows of flags in the Healing Field as they read the nametags of the victims honored.  Talking with Colonial Flag Foundation staff members, they all had a story to tell: where they were when they heard, who they had lost and who was saved.  Smiles, tears and hugs characterized the emotions shared.

I encourage anyone who has yet to enjoy the experience of walking through these rows of flags to get to a local field and do so.  Having a physical representation of each life that was lost will change you forever.  Bring your children and your children’s children.  If there is not a field near you then start one, the Colonial Flag Foundation can help.  We must always remember the loss that day.  Must honor them.  Must heal.  Let us never forget the day we lost so many… Yet stood together.

The Japanese have suffered not only from a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, but they have experienced a devastating tsunami.  Even though Japan is the world’s third wealthiest nation, these events would present overwhelming challenges for any nation.  Its location has subjected the country to repeated earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity.  Over 127 million people live in an area roughly the size of California, which further complicates their dire situation.  As nations of the world respond in the face of catastrophic destruction, death tolls and extent of damage are still unknown.

Japanese flags in their homeland and around the word fly at half-staff following the custom practiced in most countries.  As everywhere this shows that the mourning for loss is shared by the Japanese people and others.  Indeed the world shares the sense of tragic loss suffered by Japan.

A second method of mourning is sometimes visible in Japanese flag display.  Dating from the death of the Emperor Meiji in 1912, the Hinomaru or flag of the sun disc is raised on a flagpole where the ball ornament topping the pole has been covered with black cloth.  Above the Japanese flag flies a black pennant .

The Japanese Cabinet has the authority to specify the display of Japan’s national flag in times of mourning.  Whatever form that may take, the world mourns with Japan.

A PROCLAMATION

As a mark of respect for the memory of Army Corporal Frank W. Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of World War I, and in remembrance of the generation of American veterans of World War I, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that, on the day of his interment, 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 on such day.  I further direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period 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 twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

Colonial Flag Company is celebrating  the Utah State Flag’s birthday in a big way.  Company seamstresses have produced a gigantic Utah State Flag which was raised today, the 9^th of March, on the 80 foot flagpole in front of the Utah State Capitol by Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell.  The 20 by 30 foot flag, which weighs over 22 pounds folded, will fly all day in honor of the one hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the Utah State Flag.

The huge flag has had a big impact.  The Utah State Senate has been considering House Bill 490 to officially designate March 9^th as Utah State Flag Day.  However, with the State Senate overburdened by critical legislation, it seemed likely that the session would end without the Senate taking action on H.B. 490.  Seeing Colonial’s huge flag flying on the centennial anniversary day of the Utah State Flag inspired the senators to suspend the rules and pass House Bill 490.  Consequently from this year forward, March 9^th is officially recognized as Utah State Flag Day.

On Thursday, March 10^th the huge flag will be raised in front of Colonial Flag Company Headquarters and Showroom located at 9390 South 300 West in Sandy, Utah.

The flag, sewn entirely on site in Sandy, is a beautiful example of the flag-making art.  It is double appliquéd so that the image is perfect on both sides.  The pattern, produced by Colonial Flag’s graphic artist, David Rindlisbach, honors the first color version of the Utah State Flag adopted in 1913.

Although the story of the Utah State Flag stretches back to 1903, its official history began on March 9^th in 1911 when the design of the first flag became law.  While the first design was a white emblem embroidered on a blue field, the current color version was adopted in 1913.  An error made in the design of a Utah State Flag produced in 1922 has been repeated by flag-makers until this year.  Less than a month ago the Utah Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 2 to correct that error.  However, the Resolution allows existing flags to be used until they need to be replaced.

Consequently, at this first celebration of Utah State Flag Day, the gigantic Utah flag is one of only a relatively small number of correct Utah State Flags in existence.  The others are part of Colonial Flag Company’s initial order of the correct pattern, and are available for sale at Colonial Flag Company’s Showroom located at 9390 South 300 West in Sandy.

Because of Colonial Flag Company’s efforts there were correct flags on display to celebrate the Centennial of the Utah State Flag, the first Utah State Flag Day.  We are proud to be a part of honoring the Utah State Flag on its centennial.

Utah’s first flag was made in March of 1903 by ZCMI seamstress, Agnes Tuedt Frenelius at the direction of the Utah State Society of the Daughters of the Revolution.  The organization received a request from Governor Heber M. Wells, for a flag to be display at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

The word “Utah” was added to the bottom of the flag sometime after 1905.

The flag above was adopted by Legislature as the state flag through SJR 17 by Senate President Henry Gardner on March 9, 1911.

Utah’s flag celebrates its centennial anniversary this year from when the flag was originally adopted in 1911. HCR 2 (Rep. Julie Fisher) reaffirms the statute of 1913 (the last code to describe Utah’s flag) and encourages flag manufacturers to follow current Utah code.  The resolution provides an opportunity for Utah’s school children to learn about the political process while learning about the flag’s history and encourages future generations to honor the flag and those who came before us.  Flags currently in use may continue to be used until no longer in good repair.

The picture above is a copy of the only known photo of the 1913 flag (minimal quality from an old newspaper).  The description and colors were taken from language found in the Senate Journal and the original resolution found in the State Archives.

Below is the current Utah flag. In 1922, the “1847” was mistakenly put just above the “1896” and not on the shield, which does not follow the statute and has been perpetuated to this day.

Utah’s flag celebrates its centennial anniversary this year from when the flag was originally adopted in 1911.  HCR 2 (Rep. Julie Fisher) reaffirms the statute of 1913 (the last code to describe Utah’s flag) and encourages flag manufacturers to follow current Utah code.

The resolution provides an opportunity for Utah’s school children to learn about the political process while learning about the flag’s history and encourages future generations to honor the flag and those who came before us.

Flags currently in use may continue to be used until no longer in good repair.

The graphic above is a representation of the flag based on the 1913 resolution, and the surviving photograph. The description and colors were taken from language found in the Senate Journal and the original resolution found in the State Archives.

The flag is based on the Utah seal approved on April 3, 1896 through H. B. 164 by Rep. Edward Critchlow, as required by the Utah Constitution.  It was based on a design submission by Harry Edwards and Charles M. Jackson.  The flag displays an American bald eagle, a shield and six arrows which represent the six Indian tribes found in the territory at statehood.  Also displayed are the state motto, “INDUSTRY”, the beehive, the state flower the sego lily, (also adopted in 1911), the name “UTAH” and the year the pioneers enter the valley 1847.  The shield is surrounded by two partially shown period US flags on staffs with the date of statehood, 1896 below.  A thin gold ring surrounding the crest and gold fringe on its border finishes the flag.

When the President of the United States appears on camera, we normally see a representation of the Presidential seal attached to his podium and the Presidential flag displayed at his side. Today, these symbols of Presidential power and authority share the same design.

Although there have been several Presidential seals and even more Presidential flags, their various designs have basically run parallel throughout our nation’s history.

Consider the Presidential seal seen above. Not a plaque made to be displayed on a platform, this engraved seal die was cut to make wax impressions that were applied to documents and letters, as true seals. Made perhaps as early as 1845 during the administration of James K. Polk, the seal found use during the presidencies of Polk, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan and Lincoln. Lincoln replaced it in late 1864 with a seal showing thirty-six stars, the full complement of stars to represent all states: North and South. The “old seal” as it was later called disappeared until located and recognized by a Utah researcher, Ronald Fox. The seal’s design is strikingly similar to the design of a Presidential flag illustrated in a little book entitled Maritime Flags of All Nations published in London in 1848. The design and the eagle’s wings are extended to fill the flag’s rectangular space and a red scroll with the motto E. Pluribus Unum was added; nevertheless, the parallels between seal and flag are obvious.

For both emblems, the American eagle holds the olive branch of peace in the right talon and the arrows of war in its left claw. This clearly symbolizes the U.S. Presidents authority as Commander-in-chief. A civilian head of the armed forces charged to maintain peace with military might when required.

“As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on Saturday, January 8, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona, 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, January 14, 2011.  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.“

Watch the video below of the moment of silence observed at the White House.

In 2011 Colonial Flag will highlight selected Flag Days celebrated in the United States and around the world.  These flag days are Flag Facts and in order to highlight these we have compiled a list of Flag Days celebrated in America as well as important Flag Days in other nations.  To spotlight these special days each month we will announce on our Web site and post articles to our blog (flag-post.com).  Additionally, we will make postings to our Facebook page, and the Colonial Flag Showroom will host special events to lead the celebrations.

Click here to see the compiled list of Flag Days.  While it would be impossible to include all Flag Days, we want to do our best to remember the days that are important to our community!

Contact us if you have you a Flag Day to suggest that we may have missed.  Share with us any observance your group may be planning which includes the display of flags.

Flags add color and excitement to any scene, but additionally they have meaning to those who display them.  They remind us of history and inspire us to action.  Join us at Colonial Flag in the celebration of flags throughout the year!

Nevertheless, display of the flag at Christmas time has roots that reach back at least a century.  In nineteenth century depictions of Santa Claus, he sometimes was shown wearing a costume that looks like it was made for Uncle Sam including striped pants and a starry jacket.  Images of the Jolly Old Elf with the Stars and Stripes continue into our own century with modern nutcrackers, ornaments and illustrations.  Colonial Flag is certainly no stranger to Old Saint Nick.

We like to say that Santa Claus shops with us.  Drop by our showroom and you just might see a sleigh in the parking lot.

Our family at Colonial Flag and the Healing Field Foundation join Santa in wishing you and your loved ones the Merriest of Christmas Celebrations. May you find joy and happiness during the Yuletide and in the coming year!

Strange as it may seem, the original flag resolution of 1777 does not say anything about the stars representing the individual states.  This is equally true for all the legal descriptions of the United States flag that have followed.  Nothing is said about the stripes representing individual founding colonies.  Nothing is said about stars representing sates.  Note the words of the original flag resolution: “Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”

The resolution says only that there are thirteen red and white stripes, and that there are thirteen white stars in a blue field.  The stars together “represent a new constellation.”  Colonies or states are not mentioned at all.

Similarly, flag laws adopted in 1794, 1818 and most recently in 1947 make no mention of the stars and stripes symbolizing states.  Again, the states are not mentioned at all.  Only the number of stars and the number of stripes are given.  Still, the debate that has accompanied each change in the flag’s design convinces us that symbolism of the states on the flag has always been intended.  We understand that the thirteen stars and stripes of the first flag did in fact symbolize the thirteen British Colonies that had declared their independence.  Since that time, the symbolism of the states on the flag has continued.  The flag’s history tells us this is correct.

Americans may still want to find their state’s star.  There is not harm in this.  In the last hundred years various book have been published with charts showing starts linked to individual states.  The chart shown above was published in 1930 by the eminent flag historian Colonel James A. Moss.  It shows the pattern of stars for the forty-eight star flag which was then in use.  Others have produced similar charts.

Nevertheless, there is no support in the law or in early tradition to link any one star to any individual state.  When this is done, the order of the states ratifying the constitution is usually used to link stars to the states.  However, the flag had existed for more than ten years before the states began to ratify the constitution.  The thirteen British Colonies together created a new nation.  That nation rose among the nations and empires of the world like a new constellation rises among the stars and constellations of the nighttime sky.  The original flag represented the constellation of stars, the union of states.  No one state is singled out.

Another problem exists with using the dates of ratification to determine the order of stars for the first thirteen states.  It is revealed by a question.  How many states were in the union when George Washington was inaugurated?  That is a trick question.  We almost automatically answer thirteen.  Thirteen colonies did declare independence on July fourth 1776.  Thirteen states did form a government under the Article of Confederation.  Nevertheless, on the day of Washington’s first inaugural, April thirtieth of 1789, only eleven of the thirteen states had ratified the Constitution.  North Carolina ratified the Constitution seven whole months later.  Rhode Island did not ratify until May twenty-ninth of 1890, more than a year after Washington took office.  If we used the order of ratification to find the states symbolized by the thirteen stars found on the flag as Washington began his first term, there would have been two blank stars, two stars that did not represent any state.

So no order can logically be given to the first thirteen states or stars.  How can the rest of the states then be ordered without the first thirteen.  It is, therefore, more appropriate that the fifty stars on the flag together represent the Union as a whole.  The constellation of our union is no longer new, but the symbolism of the flag remains the same.  The flag represents the constellation of stars, the union of states.  That is why we call the starry field of blue on the United State flag the Union.  That is why when the stars alone are displayed on a small flag flown at the bow of ships it is call the Union Jack.  When the Union forces fought during the American Civil War, it was to defend and save the Union.  It is the Union that from the Civil War forward that has defined us not as Virginians, Georgians, Pennsylvanians or New Yorkers—but as Americans.  The Union, one nation indivisible.