HOW MANY PEOPLE REMEMBER THAT JUNE 14TH IS FLAG DAY?

Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 calling for June 14 to be named Flag Day. Calvin Coolidge followed up with a proclamation of his own in 1927, as did Franklin Roosevelt in 1942. But Harry S. Truman was the president who finally signed a Congress-approved Flag Day into law, in 1949.

“It is our custom to observe June 14 each year with ceremonies designed not only to commemorate the birth of our flag but also to rededicate ourselves to the ideals for which it stands,” Truman said in his proclamation. “This beloved emblem, which flies above all our people of whatever creed or race, signalizes our respect for human rights and the protection such rights are afforded under our form of government.”

So, whether you celebrate Wednesday with a baseball tribute, flag ceremony or street parade, remember the origins of Old Glory—and what it means—240 years after its adoption.

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