We continue to be ‘Flag Makers’

Our flag is a powerful image of our national strength and American principles. The flag has stood on the Moon. Determined American soldiers raised our flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima. It was flown on buildings after the September 11 attacks. The coffins of our best and bravest, who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms, are draped with the flag. Our flag flies in communities across our nation as a faithful witness to our national struggles and accomplishments.

In a past column, I shared past Interior Secretary Franklin Lane’s 1914 address entitled “The Flag Maker” in which he relayed a “conversation” he had with the American flag in his office. This Flag Day, excerpts of Lane’s remarks are a reminder of our individual roles as Americans in continuing to give Old Glory meaning:

'I know you well. You are the man who worked in the swelter of yesterday, straightening out the tangle of that farmer's homestead in Idaho . . . or helped to clear that patent for a hopeful inventor in New York, or pushed the opening of that new ditch in Colorado, or made that mine in Illinois more safe, or brought relief to the old soldier in Wyoming . . .'For the full story, pick up a copy of the Mountain Home News or click on this link to subscribe to the newspaper's online edition.