Aug
26
Today is Women’s Equality Day!
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August 26 of each year is designated in the United States as Women’s Equality Day. Instituted by Rep. Bella Abzug and first established in 1971, the date commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Woman Suffrage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote on August 26, 1920. It was the culmination of a 72-year-long civil rights movement that originated at the women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. This was the first in the world. For many years and generations women’s suffrage supporters wrote, lectured, marched, and lobbied to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see victory in 1920.
In celebration of Women’s Equality Day here is a list of resources to find out more information:
Aug
22
Back to School Time—The Perfect Time for Flag Etiquette & Information
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LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas—FlagandBanner.com (http://www.flagandbanner.com),a leading retail supplier of American flags and patriotic items, announced today that it will be providing free Flag Etiquette information year round for all those interested in learning the proper way to display the United States Flag.
Back To School: Time for Answers
“Every year when school starts we get a lot of e-mails and phone calls about proper flag etiquette. So many patriotic Americans are unaware of proper flag etiquette–when to take flags down, how to dispose of flags, and other general flag information,” stated Kerry McCoy, owner of Flag and Banner. “Because so many people from all over the United States getting ready for school to start have inquired about when and how to display the flag, we decided to provide the information in one place along with our e-mail alerts for people wanting notification on when to fly their flags at half staff,” Kerry continued.
Information on the Flag and Banner website includes:
When should the American Flag Be Flown? For a list of the primary holidays including five during which the flag should be flown at half mast, go to http://www.FlagandBanner.com/fab/flag.asp?cpage=flagseason.
US Flag History For a concise history of the American Flag, see http://www.FlagandBanner.com/fab/flag.asp?cpage=history1.
How to fold the American Flag For a step-by-step guide–perfect for churches, scouts, schools and others, see http://www.FlagandBanner.com/fab/flag.asp?cpage=folding1.
Half Staff E-mail Alert To register for a free email alert notification when the President calls for the flag to be lowered to half staff, register at http://www.flagandbanner.com/mlsubscription.asp.
Back to School Ideas for Teachers, Students and Parents Unique ways to educate students or thank your favorite teacher or student. See http://flagandbanner.com/holiday/viewholiday.asp?hid=37.
How to MakeYour Flag Look its Best Professionals use the “flag spreader.” See
http://flagandbanner.com/fab/productpage.asp?id=CFLAGSPM.
For more information on flags or to purchase patriotic items, go to www.FlagandBanner.com.
Aug
15
The bidding process for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games was officially launched on May 16, 2007. Four candidate cities were chosen for the shortlist on June 4, 2008. The final selection will be made by the full IOC membership on October 2, 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark, with IOC recommendations made approximately one month before the selection.
Chicago, Illinois, the city ranked third as the host for the 2016 Summer Olympics, recently contacted FlagandBanner.com for assistance in finding 205 flags to place on display for their bid. With some difficulty they were not sure how to display the differing country flags properly on the wall. The Flag Etiquette for most flags is much like the American Flag. When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag’s own right, that is, to the observer’s left. National flags of multiple countries should be arranged in alphabetical order. * This is a general guide only. Policies, rules, laws, traditions and customs of your country or other countries may differ from the information contained in this article. If in doubt, always consult your government or another official authority about the appropriate display of your country’s national flag. To contact an official authority on proper flag etiquette for different countries, see the U.S. Dept. of State website for more information.
Aug
10
Anniversary of the POW-MIA Flag
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As an Annin authorized dealer, we would like to share the story of The Pow-Mia flag with our customers. We want to remind our customers that today is the day to celebrate the Anniversary of the POW-MIA flag and remember those who are lost to us.
Today the black and white POW-MIA flag, with its silhouette of a bowed head, set against a guard tower and a single strand of barbed wire serves as a national symbol and a challenge to a country not to forget.
In 1970 Mrs. Mary Hoff, an MIA wife and member of the National League of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia recognized the need for a symbol for our POW/MIAs. She read a newspaper article in the Jacksonville, Florida Times Union about Annin & Co. that explained how Annin helped to design and subsequently manufactured the flags for the newer UN member nations. After contacting Annin, Mrs. Hoff found Norman Rivkkes who was VP of Sales at the time very sympathetic to the cause. He in turn contacted a local advertising agency and contracted graphic designer Newt Heisley to design a flag to represent the group.
The job came just as Heisley’s son Jeffrey was returning from Marine training at Quantico, VA. Home after becoming ill during training, Jeffrey’s gaunt appearance became the inspiration for the silhouette. Newt Heisely, himself a World War II veteran who flew missions in the Pacific, was glad he got the chance to design the symbol and help the group. “I used to fly within range of the Japanese and wondered how I would hold up if I ever got captured. When I did the design, I thought how easy it would be to forget those guys”, he said.
The now familiar slogan, “You are not forgotten”, was born of that sentiment. Heisley also remarked in an interview that the flag was not originally intended to black and white. He figured that once the League selected the design from the several he submitted, a suitable color would be chosen. One less somber, more optimistic, he said. The black and white motif stuck.
Following the League’s approval Annin manufactured the flags for distribution. The image was never copyrighted and is now part of the public domain.
Neither Heisley nor the League ever anticipated the flag’s popularity would reach the level that it has today. Newt Heisely has been honored by Congress and by many veterans groups and patriotic organizations in the years since he first conceived the flag design. He is now retired and living in Colorado Springs, CO.
Since its inception in the early 1970’s the POW/MIA flag has had a career of its own. Its design has been copied on everything from bumper stickers to belt buckles and these items have been used as fundraisers for many veterans’ causes.
On March 9, 1989 an official League flag was installed in the US Capital Rotunda where it stands as a powerful symbol of national commitment to America’s POW/MIA’s. It is the only flag ever to be honored in this way. On August 10, 1990, Congress passed US Public Law 101-355 which officially recognized the League’s POW/MIA flag.
On November 18, 1997 President Clinton signed into law the 1998 Defense Authorization Act. A section of that act requires that the POW/MIA flag be flown from Military Installations, National Cemeteries, V.A. Medical Centers and many other Federal Buildings.
It remains one of the most popular organizational flags flown in the United States, selling in the tens of thousands every year. Annin & Co. remains an officially sanctioned supplier of the POW/MIA flag to the Federal Government and keeps the flag stocked in a wide variety of sizes and styles.
Aug
5
USS New York
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It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center
It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.
Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship’s bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, ‘those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence,’ recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. ‘It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.’
Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the ‘hair on my neck stood up.’ ‘It had a big meaning to it for all of us,’ he said. ‘They knocked us down. They can’t keep us down. We’re going to be back.’
The ship’s motto? ‘Never Forget’
This article is thanks to www.ussnewyork.com.
Aug
1
World’s Largest Gadsden Flag
Filed Under AFB Press Releases, Current Events | 6 Comments
At FlagAndBanner.com’s headquarters in Little Rock, Meghan Pittman, Kerry McCoy’s daughter, decided to make the world’s largest Gadsden flag. This applique flag is 15 feet by 25 feet and is currently flying on FlagAndBanner.com’s flagpole. After 9/11 the United States of America’s people began to fly the Gadsden flag as a representation of freedom and patriotism.
The Gadsden flag is a historical American flag with a yellow field depicting a rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. Positioned below the snake is the words “DONT TREAD ON ME.” The flag was designed by and is named after American general and statesman Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina. The Gadsden flag was flown early in 1776 by Commodore Esek Hopkins of Rhode Island, first Commander-in-chief of the Continental Fleet. Its inscription represented a warning by the colonists to the British during the Revolutionary war. Considered one of the first flags of the United States, the flag was later replaced by the current Stars and Stripes (or Old Glory) flag. Since the Revolution, the flag has seen times of reintroduction as a symbol of American patriotism.
For instance, unofficial usage of the Gadsden flag by the U.S. Government has been seen, particularly in the wake of September 11, 2001, most notably by Customs and harbor patrol boats in U.S. ports and individuals serving abroad in the U.S. Military. The First Navy Jack, which was directly related to the Gadsden flag, has also been in use by the U.S. Navy, and since the terrorist attacks is flown on all active naval ships. Citizens of the United States of America began flying the Gadsden flag in response to being attacked on their soil. No one will tread on American soil without a fight.
Whether you approve or disapprove of the war, FlagandBanner.com encourages you to remember the events, and the people who died on 9/11. Hold your own September 11th Memorial or simply take a moment of silence during your day.