Special day honors all that red, white and blue represents

  • Published
  • By Debbie Aragon
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  The red symbolizes valor and bravery, the white - purity and innocence, and the blue - vigilance, perseverance and justice. They are the colors of the banner for which American citizens young and old pledge allegiance.

Every year since 1916 when then President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation, the United States and its citizens have celebrated National Flag Day on June 14.

"Our flag stands for the hopes and dreams of everyone from our Founding Fathers, to our country's newest citizens," said Staff Sgt. Aaron Molchak, NCO in charge of the Offutt Honor Guard. "It also stands for the sacrifice of our brave military members who pay the price for the fulfillment of those hopes and dreams. Knowing the symbolism behind its design, stirs pride in your spirit."

Members of Team Offutt have a unique opportunity to see the national 9/11 Flag - a true representation of all that Old Glory represents - on display at the base lake June 11 during the Offutt Annual Appreciation Picnic. The flag, a remnant from a 30-foot American flag destroyed when the Twin Towers collapsed, was stitched back together by tornado survivors in Greensburg, Kan., in a nationwide community service project led by the New York Says Thank You Foundation. It is now traveling around the United States on a three-year, 50-state tour in the lead up to the 10-year anniversary Sept. 11, 2011.

As our national symbol, there are clear guidelines for displaying the flag of the United States. As the NCOIC of the Offutt Honor Guard for the last two years, Sergeant Molchak is perhaps more familiar with proper flag protocol than others.

"I've always viewed the American flag almost as a living thing," he said. "My view of the flag itself hasn't changed (over the last two years) as much as my realization of how many Americans honestly don't know how to display and honor it properly. My time at the honor guard has increased my knowledge of flag protocol, as well as my ability to recognize when that protocol is being broken."

The NCO said there is one flag courtesy that he routinely sees broken.

According to U.S. Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, "It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness."

"Many homes and some businesses in the local area display the flag after sunset without the proper illumination," Sergeant Molchak said.

Other key elements of the flag code for displaying the American flag are:

* The flag should be raised briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
* The flag should never be allowed to touch the ground or floor.
* The flag shouldn't be flown in bad weather unless it is an all-weather flag.
*The flag should never be used to carry, store or deliver anything.
* The flag should never be flown upside down except as a sign of emergency.

"In my mind, the reason that we extend these courtesies to the flag should be out of respect for all that it stands for," Sergeant Molchak said.

To learn more about proper flag protocol, click here.