Tag: Veterans of Foreign Wars

Tomorrow is Flag Day in the US

There will be a parade in Washington, DC tomorrow to supposedly mark the 250th anniversary of the creation of the United States Army. June 14th is, coincidentally, Flag Day in the US.

The United States flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing, according to the official Flag Code.

Photo of the US flag unfurled against a blue sky with white puffy clouds
Photo by chris robert on Unsplash

The US flag is never to touch the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.

The US flag cannot be thrown in the trash when it becomes damaged or is updated with an additional star when a new state is added to the union. It must be disposed of in a flag retirement ceremony.

Those flag retirement ceremonies are conducted by organizations such as the American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). In those solemn ceremonies, the flag is burned.

Setting fire to a US flag other than in on officially-sanctioned retirement ceremony is considered desecration.

Flying the US flag upside-down is a distress signal.

President Woodrow Wilson declared June 14 as Flag Day in 1916. Although not an official holiday on which banks and government offices close, since 1916 it has been a day set apart for us to stop and think about our flag and the sacrifice and freedoms it represents.

But then came Donald Trump

Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946, and therein lies a problem.

Trump wanted a big military parade in Washington, DC during his first term in office, but he had rational military advisors then who told him (1) that’s not what we do in America and (2) the city streets in Washington, DC were not constructed to withstand the weight of army tanks. The military advisors in place then were able to shut down the idea.

But fast forward to 2025. All the military brass in a position to or with the courage to say “No” to President Trump are gone. Therefore, there will be a military parade with tanks on the city streets in Washington, DC tomorrow.

This parade is estimated to cost the American taxpayers $45 million. According to The Huff Post online, it is estimated that $16 million of that is what the taxpayers in the District of Columbia will be on the hook for in street repairs. (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/road-repairs-cost-trump-army-parade_n_683d7252e4b095a13840e070)

Is Trump concerned about that? Of course not! In fact, The Huff Post on June 2, 2025, quoted him as saying that $16 million is “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”

US Army tanks from Fort Cavazos in Texas were transported to the nation’s capital just for this event. That is 1,500 miles. Soldiers need practice in transporting tanks, but 1,500 miles just for a parade seems excessive.

One-inch-thick steel plates have been placed at strategic places on the streets in Washington, DC and the tanks have been outfitted with new track pads to minimize street damage.

Members of the US Army Golden Knights parachute team are scheduled to drop in to hand a US flag to Trump.

What a spectacle it will be all while the US Congress, at the instruction of President Trump, cannot find the money to fund the National Park Service or USAID or medical research or the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or Medicaid or the National Weather Service or….

It is beside the point that democracies don’t have military parades in their capital cities to show their military might. That’s what the Adolph Hitlers, the Vladimir Putins, the Kim Jong Uns, and the Xi Jinpings of the world do.

But Donald Trump was jealous of them and their grand parades.

So Donald Trump will have a military parade on his birthday, and the US taxpayers be damned.

Until my next blog post

I hope all the American taxpayers who are working two jobs just to make ends meet have a nice Flag Day.

Tomorrow is also “No Kings Day” in the United States. We thought we made it clear in 1776 that we didn’t want a king. Someone will be reminded of that in 1,800 scheduled protests tomorrow.

Janet

Memorial Day Observance

This is Memorial Day in the United States.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

This is the day every year on which Americans are called on the remember the men and women who have died in the military service to our country. It dates back to 1868. After the Civil War, the 30th day of May was set aside as “Decoration Day” on which the graves of those soldiers who had given their lives for their country were to be decorated with flowers.

For decades it was called Decoration Day. Unfortunately, since it was begun as a day to remember those who had been killed in the military service of the United States, some in The South selected a different day in May to honor those who had died fighting for the Confederate States in the Civil War.

I can remember older people even in the 1960s who still marked Confederate Memorial Day. I’m glad we have gotten beyond that, or at least I hope and think we have.

Even after World War I, the day was specifically to remember those who died in the Civil War. After World War II, though, it was decided that it should be a day to honor the sacrifice made by all who had died in the military service, no matter the war or circumstances of their death during service.

Congress passed the National Holiday Act of 1971 and it designated that Memorial Day will be observed on the last Monday in May.

In 1915, Moina Michael was inspired by the poem “In Flanders Field” to write the following: “We cherish too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led. It seems to signal to the skies that blood of heroes never dies.”

Photo of a field of red poppies
Photo by Irina Iacob on Unsplash

She then had the idea that we should wear red poppies on Memorial Day to honor those who died in the service. She sold them on her own and gave the money she made to benefit veterans in need. The custom was admired by a Madam Guerin of France, and she initiated the practice there to raise money for the children orphaned and the women widowed by war. The practice spread across many countries.

In 1922, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organization became the first organization to sell the poppies across the US. IN 1924, disabled veterans started making the artificial poppies for the VFW members and their auxiliary members to sell.

So, if you see them selling poppies outside a supermarket, a shopping mall, or elsewhere today, stop and buy a poppy and wear it today to remind yourself and those who see you what this holiday is all about.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have a good book to read.

Spend time with friends and family for you and they won’t be here forever.

Remember the people of Ukraine, western North Carolina, and the flooding victims in New South Wales, Australia, and in southern France. No part of the world is immune to war or extreme weather

Janet