June 14th, flag day in the us

[ayin jade]

At one time I lived and worked on the navajo reservation. In the day to day activity of my job, I would call patients into a room and talk to them privately about their medication.

One day I called in a patient. He was dressed in a yellow shirt and a red hat. Various pins decorated the hat. He also wore traditional navajo jewelry. 

As he sat down, he asked me if I knew what day it was. I said "yes its june 14th". He said "it is flag day, dont forget it."

Here is a man of an elite group, who fought in world war ii. Who did not even have the right to vote yet. (Navajos were not fully granted the right to vote in new mexico until 1948.) Who was not even allowed to talk about his experiences until the military declassified the code in 1968. 

All of the original 29 code talkers who developed the code have since passed away. Of the remaining code talkers who fought in the war, most of them are gone too. Three of them passed away in the last month and a half. 

I do not know if he was one of the original 29 code talkers, or one of the later code talkers, but he taught me a valuable lesson. I am privileged to have gotten to meet many of them during my time on the reservation. 

[BeauJangles]

When my mother re-married after so many years of being single, ( she had biblical rights ) her hubby took the great effort and expense of cementing a flag pole with pulleys. A real professional job well done. In order by law to fly our nation's banner 24/7, a flood light must be directed to the flag during the night time hours. It was really nice to see, and was visual for a couple of blocks in all surrounding areas.  

Over the years, a massive crepe myrtle tree in the adjacent property had grown so large, its extended branches kept getting snagged in the stars & stripes, when the breezes blew in an unwanted direction. And it caused for making replacements due to the daily wear and tear. A more rugged one with inlaid sewn segments was a bit too costly to afford. Sad to say, the tree remained as is, and the flag eventually had to be taken down.

Shalom, 

David/BeauJangles

[BeauJangles]

Just a foot note on Mom's flag... Not only are the finest flags available a great cost, but to keep them up to code standards, they must be dry cleaned, not laundered. Another tremendous expense over time. Also, the blossoms on a crepe myrtle here in our area, attract pesky aphids and cause for gooey messes. Any flag which was the case, getting in the muck of this sort of thing would make even more frequent cleanings necessary... It was a decent memorial for quite a few years though. 

[ayin jade]

Hmm I forgot to add this. The outfit I described is the outfit the code talkers wore in their every day lives now. All their medals on their shirt. You always knew when you saw a codetalker.

https://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/knau/files/styles/x_large/public/201601/LTJ-Code1-talkers670.jpg

[shortangel]

Happy Flag Day everybody

[Sower]

2 hours ago, BeauJangles said:

In order by law to fly our nation's banner 24/7, a flood light must be directed to the flag during the night time hours.

I don't believe it is about the law.
I believe it's respect.
I have replaced flags for others when they have ripped apart and became ragged.
I see many like that, usually the owners are not aware.
I buy the inexpensive 3x5 nylon woven, ten bucks, e bay.
Last about a year.
I'm proud of our flag.

"The United States Flag Code establishes advisory rules for display and care of the national flag of the United States of America. ... This is a U.S. federal law, but the penalty described in Title 18 of the United States Code (18 U.S.C. § 700) for failure to comply with it is not enforced."

[BeauJangles]

2 hours ago, Sower said:

I don't believe it is about the law. 
I believe it's out of respect.
I have replaced flags for others when they have ripped apart and became ragged.
I see many like that, usually the owners are not aware
I buy the inexpensive 3x5 nylon woven, ten bucks, e bay.
Last about a year.
I'm proud of our flag.

"The United States Flag Code establishes advisory rules for display and care of the national flag of the United States of America. ... This is a U.S. federal law, but the penalty described in Title 18 of the United States Code (18 U.S.C. § 700) for failure to comply with it is not enforced."

I see. My step-father must have been mistaken about the code then. It was out of respect of the conditions the flag was being both tattered by branches, and pelted by ooze, that the decision was made after so many years, it became necessary to no longer fly it in lieu of the situation. Thanks for the clarifications.