A salute to 100 years of Flag Day
Glenda Owens knows how precious the American flag can be.
For her, it symbolizes the safe return of her son after his deployment to Afghanistan.
Tuesday marks the 100th anniversary of Flag Day. June 14 was officially proclaimed Flag Day by President Woodrow Wilson. In 1777, the American flag was adopted by the United States – on June 14.
Many Kansans mark the day in a variety of ways.
In Lindsborg, the Kiwanis Club offers a subscription service in which a flag and pole is brought to a home or business on selected holidays.
The American Legion in Yates Center donates money to place flagpoles and flags around the roads to the town cemetery.
Fredonia displays a large flag on a nearby hill.
But for Owens of Garden City, the day holds a more personal meaning.
“Flag Day is a time when we always hang out a new flag and choose to remember all our military people in our family who have sacrificed,” Owens said Monday.
Both of her parents – Gary Woodard and Nadine Thomas – served during the 1950s. Her brother, Christopher Woodard, still serves, as does her son, Clint Culver, she said.
The tattered flag that now hangs in her basement “patriot room” has special meaning regarding Culver.
“The first deployment he went on, the day he deployed, my husband, Cole, and I hung a new flag on our flag pole in front of the house,” Owens said. “It was just our way of showing patriotism and support for Clint and his soldiers.”
When it first started to get ragged, neighbors noticed and suggested the Owenses take the flag down and replace it with a new one. They wouldn’t do it.
“It became almost like a superstition,” she said. “We went to take it down and replace it, and I said to Cole, ‘I’m not taking this flag down until my son steps onto American soil.’
“We had people who came by and tell us you know you are supposed to take it down. But when they heard our story, they understood.”
Culver returned home in 2009. He has since served in the Army in Special Unit Forces.
Beccy Tanner: 316-268-6336, @beccytanner
Flag etiquette
Federal law requires the U.S. flag to be displayed only from sunrise to sunset unless it is illuminated. It should be raised briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
The flag should never be left outside in harsh weather unless it is an all-weather flag.
It shouldn’t touch the ground or have any flag flying above it.
It should not be allowed to get tattered or worn.
When a flag is flown at half-staff for mourning, it must first be raised to the top of the pole and then lowered to the pole’s middle. At sunset, the flag should be raised to the top again before being taken down.
Source: U.S. Flag Code
This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 7:29 PM with the headline "A salute to 100 years of Flag Day."