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Show UFW Auxiliary 'observes U.S. Flag Day . SUBMITTED BY VFW AUXILIARY The VFW and Auxiliary were happy to observe Flag Day, June 14. The birthday ol the Flag of the United States of America. Although . Congress authorized author-ized the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States June 14, 1777, it was not . until 1916, . 139 years later that Flag Day was officially offi-cially observed. When on May 30, 1916 President Pres-ident Woodrow Wilson called for the celebration og Flag Day in a memorable proclamation proclam-ation which read "On June 14 each year Let us on that day rededicate ourselves to the nation one and inseparable from which every thought that is not worthy of our fathers' fath-ers' first vows in Independence, Independ-ence, liberty and right shall be excluded and i n which we shall stand with united hearts for an America which no man can corrupt, no influence in-fluence draw away from its ideal, no force divide against Itself a nation singly distinguished among all the nations of mankind for, its clear, lndivudual conception provlleges, its obligations, and alike ,of it's duties and its its rights." American presidents had been so slow to recognize flag day. In 1885 a teacher in a Wisconsin Wis-consin rural school, B. J. Ci-grand Ci-grand in speeches articles in magazines and newspapers advocated a national observance observ-ance of flag day. In 1889 another teacher in New York, George Balch, organized or-ganized for his kindergarten students ceremonies on June 14 to observe the birthday of the flag. Later the practice was adopted by the New York State Board of Education. Nine years later Cigrand who had won the title of "Father of. Flag Day," formed the American Flag Day Association Asso-ciation to promote the cause in schools throughout the nation. na-tion. Patriotic societies toop up the cause and it was only a matter of time before a president would take notice of the rising clamor for a national na-tional proclamation of Flag Day. |