[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 81 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6725-S6726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FLAG DAY AND THE BIRTHDAY OF THE ARMY

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, our Nation celebrates two birthdays 
today.
  On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress agreed to forge, from 
several different State militias, one single Army to fight America's 
War of Independence.
  Congress called for 10 companies of expert rifleman to be raised from 
among the colonies of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia and ordered 
them to march to Boston to meet the British Army.
  Two years later, Congress established a flag for the young Army to 
fight under.
  With the war still raging, and the future of the Revolution very much 
in doubt, the Continental Congress decreed it ``Resolved, That the Flag 
of the 13 United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; 
That the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a 
new constellation.''
  In a way, the entire history of our Nation is contained within these 
events. From diverse parts, America set forth to create a single 
nation, founded on common values and a shared vision for its future.
  Struggling against the preeminent military power of its age, our 
Founding Fathers looked upon the different rebellions waged by State 
militia, independent of one another, taking place throughout the 
colonies, and determined that if the 13 colonies were to share a single 
fate, it would be best if we chose to meet it together.
  The design of the new American flag reflected that wisdom and 
symbolizes the union of disparate parts. While the 13 stripes and the 
13 stars represented the different colonies, the colors signified the 
common values that bound us together as a nation. Red for valor. White 
for liberty. Blue for justice.
  Today, Old Glory is America's most treasured national symbol. It 
captures the imagination of both young and old because, in a way, each 
American is represented.
  Each of us can see among the stars in the deep blue field one star 
that represents our State, our neighborhood, ourselves. And in the 13 
stripes representing the colonies that banded together, each of us can 
also feel the connection to our history.
  In this way, the flag is alive. Each American adds to its meaning and 
significance through the work we do to build our Nation.
  Few expressed this better than Franklin Lane, Woodrow Wilson's 
Secretary for the Interior. Speaking to a group of civil servants in 
1914, Secretary Lane imagined a conversation with, as he called it, 
``Mr. Flag.''
  ``Yesterday,'' the Flag tells Lane, ``the President spoke a word that 
made happier the future of ten million . . . but that act looms no 
larger on the Flag than the struggle which the boy in Georgia is making 
to win the Corn Club prize this summer. . . .
  ``Yesterday the Congress spoke a word which will open the door of 
Alaska; but a mother in Michigan worked from sunrise until far into the 
night, to give her boy an education. She, too, is making the Flag.
  ``Yesterday we made a new law to prevent financial panics, and 
yesterday, maybe a schoolteacher in Ohio taught his first letters to a 
boy who will one day write a song that will give cheer to the millions. 
. . . We are all making the Flag. I am your belief in yourself, your 
dream of what a people may become . . . I am no more than what you 
believe me to be and I am all that you believe I can be. . . . I am 
what you make me; nothing more.''
  Looking back at 227 years under Old Glory, the American people can be 
proud of what we have made the flag. Throughout the world it is 
recognized as a symbol of freedom and valor.
  And, there can be no doubt, few American institutions have done more 
to make this true than the United States Army, the oldest institution 
in the world dedicated to defending a democracy.
  In its 229 years, the Army has engaged in more than 175 different 
campaigns to defend our Nation, and to defend freedom throughout the 
world.
  As we celebrate the Army and the incalculable contributions it has 
made to the life of our Nation, and the world, members of the Army are 
once again far from their families, fighting shoulder to shoulder, to 
extend freedom's reach throughout the world.
  Each day, we see new examples of the courage, loyalty, and fortitude 
that have been hallmarks of the Army since its birth more than two 
centuries ago.
  The stories of the heroism of Army troops rescuing our Nation from a 
pivotal moment are too numerous to count. But I would like to relate 
one of my favorites from the War of 1812.
  For the first 2 years of that war, the American forces had been 
beaten badly by the British. The English generals had become openly 
contemptuous of the American forces, which they considered little more 
than a ragtag band of untrained and unprofessional conscripts.
  As the British met the American Army on the banks of the Chippewa 
River, the British general looked out over the American Army and mocked 
them as little more than a militia--the same forces they had been 
routing for the past 2 years.
  The British opened fire, expecting the Americans to scatter. But the 
Army marched directly through the British fire.
  Seeing a bravery and professionalism he had never encountered, the 
British general cried out, ``Those are regulars, by God.''
  Soon, the Army troops had encircled the British forces, catching them 
in crossfire. The Battle of Chippewa was soon won, and it brought about 
a turning point in the War of 1812, and the history of our young 
Nation.
  Countless times, the United States Army has stunned an enemy 
commander by its discipline, its skill, and its bravery. But while 
America continues to be awed by the achievements of the U.S. Army, we 
are no longer surprised.
  Whether on the banks of the Chippewa, the fields of Gettysburg, the 
banks of Normandy, or the streets of Baghdad, the U.S. Army continues 
to represent the best hopes and the best achievement of a single 
nation, united in common defense of its shared values and dreams.
  They have brought honor and freedom to our Nation for 229 years. And 
while it is historical coincidence that the Army birthday and Flag Day 
fall together on June 14 each year, it is altogether fitting that they 
do so.
  The same values the Flag represents, the Army exemplifies and 
defends. When we look upon the flag, we see the heroism with which our 
military has defended it, and we are proud.
  All this is represented in the American flag. And when Americans 
pledge allegiance to the flag, it is this history, these values, these 
ideals, to which we promise loyalty.
  Knowing the power of the Pledge to unite Americans, I was encouraged 
to learn that the Supreme Court has rejected the recent challenge to 
the constitutionality of the Pledge.
  I have long believed in the constitutionality of the Pledge of 
Allegiance, and though the Supreme Court Decision was made on 
procedural grounds, it represents a positive step forward in our 
efforts to affirm its central place in the life of our Nation.
  In a simple way, the Pledge gives us the chance to reaffirm the 
history and values that bind us together--the history and values 
represented by our flag.
  When I think of the importance of the flag to our country, I am 
reminded of the days after September 11, 2001.
  One week after the attacks, I recall walking into the Hart Senate 
Office Building to see American flags hanging

[[Page S6726]]

from each window, on each of the eight floors of the building.
  Like the individual stars standing united together, the Senate 
offices were spontaneously united in a pure and impromptu display of 
patriotism and loyalty.
  If anyone ever had doubts about our Nation's resolve to persevere in 
the face of terrorism, they would be put to rest at that moment.
  As Franklin Lane said, each of us makes the Flag.
  As we work to build our Nation and extend its ideals throughout the 
world, we are extending the constellation of stars our Founding Fathers 
saw in the 13 colonies. And today, the light of this constellation 
extends throughout the world.
  This is what we celebrate on both Flag Day and the Army's birthday.
  Each in its way reminds us of the continuing work of our Nation, to 
create a more perfect union, united under one flag, defended by one 
force, and inspired by a shared vision of a future, as the Pledge 
states, ``with liberty and justice for all.''

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