June 14 is the Anniversary of the Approval of the Design of the First United States Flag.
And the anniversary of my parent's wedding
In my mind, Flag Day is a reminder of our parent's wedding anniversary in 1947. I used to take for granted that it was an important day since they always spoke reverently about it. It was important to them: both had military experience: dad in the Navy and mom as a cadet nurse during World War II. I was brought up on patriotism. When the National Anthem was sung, we all stood. Dad removed his hat, we were to put our hands on our hearts. Strange rituals, but we were used to them at school, church, and home.
I remember the first time I came home from college ready to demonstrate my newfound freedom of speech. Dad took us to the traditional Thanksgiving Day football game and I refused to stand during the National Anthem. It was during the Vietnam war and I was becoming deeply distrustful of the United States government and felt I needed to protest. I remember how hurt my dad was by this. Though…
