After a decade’s conservation, the flag that inspired the National Anthem returns to its place of honor on the National Mall.
By Robert M. Poole for Smithsonian magazine, November 2008
Long before it flew to the moon, waved over the White House or was folded into tight triangles at Arlington National Cemetery; before it sparked fiery [...]
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A recurring question that shows up on every web site that writes about flags, or sell flags is this: How do you fold a Texas flag?
The Texas Flag Code is silent on this, so there’s no help to be found there. I should mention that the U.S. Flag Code does not tell how to fold [...]
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For someone who writes about flags, this story is hot hot hot!
The State of Oregon celebrates its sesquicentennial next year (1859-2009), and The Oregonian newspaper in Portland has announced a contest to design a new flag for the state. It’s not sanctioned by the State of Oregon, but it’s a start.
The Oregon flag, like [...]
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The World Factbook, a publication of the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency, is an excellent resource for current world flags as graphic images, and other information presented in gazette form.
I have a 1990 edition of The World Factbook; I wonder how many flags have changed since then?
So—can you find Pitcairn Islands on the world [...]
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The U.S. Flag Code is a remarkable document, but it doesn’t explain some of the rules. Section 8(c) of the Code says: The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.
So why are the giant flag displays shown below a severe violation of the U.S. Flag Code?
Because there is [...]
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Posted in Flag Facts, History, Information on Sep 25th, 2008
This is a good article that Larry wrote in January 2007, and worthy of review.
Flag vocabulary is not universally known, so I created this diagram naming the different parts of a flag. As you see (click the image for larger picture), each component is given a distinct name, and there are even more than [...]
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The third Friday of each September is set aside by law, as National POW-MIA Recognition Day, and today I want to cover the protocol for flying the POW-MIA flag. Tomorrow I’ll write about the flag, and how it came to be, and what it means to Americans.
Tomorrow the U.S. Flag flies at full staff, with [...]
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Fair is fair. Right?
I have written here at length about the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-243). Here is a story from the Baltimore Sun where a woman is flying the flag in violation of her condo by-laws, and defending her actions by claiming she has the right [...]
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Eight. The answer is eight.
It’s a popular trivia question—a bit of a trick question, actually. How many places does the U.S. flag fly continuously in the United States? By law or presidential proclamation, the United States flag flies continuously in eight locations around the country. In chronological order of this honor, they are:
Fort McHenry [...]
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Here’s a story I flagged last week, from The Wall Street Journal. When I started doing more research on the topic of the tallest flagpoles, that’s when I learned about the super-tall pole in Laredo, Texas. For a someone who sells flagpoles, this is like the World Series!
Flagpole Builder Hits New Heights In Central Asia
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