America and the
stories behind it...

Here in America, when we speak of the red, white, and blue we all know that we are talking about the flag of the United States of America.  This flag stands for our land, our people, our government and, most of all, our freedom.  Our flag, and the love we feel for our nation, has caused strong emotion throughout the years.
 

During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key was on a ship in the Baltimore Harbor, while the British were firing cannon balls.  As night descended, the last thing he could see from his ship was the American flag with its stars and stripes proudly waving in the breeze.  Throughout the night he would wait for a flash of light from the cannon fire to see if the flag was still there.  Toward morning the firing suddenly stopped.  His eyes searched the American fort, not knowing whether the British had given up their shelling, or if the fort had surrendered.  As the sun came up he saw the flag still flying proudly in the morning air.  Finding only an envelope in his pocket, he began to write the words to what would later become our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.
 

On his 21st birthday, William Driver, a young sea captain from Salem, Massachusetts was given a beautiful flag from his family.  He loved the beauty of the flag and he called it "Old Glory" and took the flag with him throughout his many voyages to sea.  When he retired to Nashville, Tennessee, he made sure "Old Glory" hung proudly at his home.  During the Civil War he hid "Old Glory" by sewing it inside a comforter.  At the end of the war the flag was raised above the state capitol in Tennessee.  Upon his death, his cherished flag was left to his daughter.  Today that flag is displayed at the Smithsonian Institute.
 

John Phillip Sousa, upon returning from a successful European tour with his famous marching band received news of his manager's death.  Without someone to manage the tours he worried about the future of the band.  Pacing the deck of the ship while worrying about his problem he looked up and saw the colors of our flag.  The fluttering flag lifted his spirit and inspired him.  The music of a song flashed through his mind.  He wrote it down and called it Stars and Strips Forever.  It was performed on his next tour and immediately became an American favorite. 
 

Riding in a funeral procession with an elderly man, George M. Cohan, a famous American playwright, actor and composer, listened to the older gentleman as he spoke about our flag.  The simple three colored piece of material meant so much to this man and others who had fought beneath its colors.  The old man gently caressed the flag as he told Mr. Cohan how and why his fellow soldiers had fought in Gettysburg.  Mr. Cohan was deeply touched by his words and by the end of the ride had composed the first verse and refrain of You're a Grand Old Flag.  He was later recognized for this music by being given the Congressional Medal of Honor.
 

The Star Spangled Banner, Old Glory, Stars and Stripes Forever, and the Grand Old Flag.  They are all different names and different ways to tell the same story.  We love our country!