[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 10885]]

                                FLAG DAY

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President:

     Hats off!
     Along the street there comes
     A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
     A flash of color beneath the sky:
     Hats off!
     The flag is passing by!

     Blue and crimson and white it shines,
     Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.
     Hats off!
     The colors before us fly;
     But more than the flag is passing by.

     Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,
     Fought to make and save the State:
     Weary marches and sinking ships;
     Cheers of victory on dying lips;

     Days of plenty and years of peace;
     March of a strong land's swift increase;
     Equal justice, right and law,
     Stately honor and reverend awe;

     Sign of a nation, great and strong
     To ward her people from foreign wrong;
     Pride and glory and honor, all
     Live in the colors to stand or fall.

     Hats off!
     Along the street there comes
     A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;
     And loyal hearts are beating high:
     Hats off!
     The flag is passing by!

  Mr. President, today is Flag Day. It is the birthday of our Stars and 
Stripes. It was on June 14, 1777, that the Second Continental Congress 
passed the resolution authorizing the creation of a flag to symbolize 
the new Nation, the United States of America.
  This is not a federal holiday, but to me it is one of the most 
important days of the year. Flag day is our nation's way of honoring, 
celebrating, and paying our respects to the very symbol of our nation. 
As the poem says: ``more than the flag is passing by.''
  Henry Ward Beecher explained that ``a thoughtful mind when it sees 
our nation's flag, sees not the flag, but the nation itself.''
  More than this, Old Glory represents the values and principles of our 
nation. It commemorates our nation's glorious past, and it offers hope 
for an even more glorious future.
  Born at the beginning of the American Revolution, the Stars and 
Stripes is a celebration of our independence and our freedom as well as 
our strength and our security. It was there, being raised and saluted 
during some of the proudest moments in our nation's history as in Iwo 
Jima in 1945 and on the Moon in 1969. And it has been there in every 
major conflict in American history as millions of young Americans have 
marched off to battle under the flag. It was at Fort McHenry during the 
War of 1812. It was there at Gettysburg, at San Juan Hill, and at 
Normandy.
  But more than soldiers have been inspired and guided by our Nation's 
colors.
  I can't begin to explain what a thrill it is for me to visit a school 
and see young children putting their chubby hands on their hearts and 
pledging allegiance to ``the flag of the United States of America and 
to the republic for which it stands.'' When I see such a sight, I feel 
confident for the future of our great land. Whatever our current 
troubles might be, I somehow know that everything will be all right. 
Our flag, as it has throughout our history, continues to transcend our 
differences, and affirm our common bond as a people and our solemn 
unity as a great Nation.
  The United States Senate now begins each morning by pledging 
allegiance to the flag. Speaking those few, but stirring, words, while 
looking at Old Glory, still inspires me and reminds me of how fortunate 
I am to be an American, to be a West Virginian, and to be a United 
States Senator.
  On Flag Day, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson noted: ``though silent it 
[our flag] speaks to us'' and indeed it does.
  It speaks to us of great events--of our liberty; of our history; of 
our future. It speaks to us of the freedom that is the basis, and the 
enduring promise, of our Republic.
  ``Hats off,'' Mr President, ``the colors before us fly; But more than 
the flag is passing by.''
  I close by citing those memorable, moving lines from the second 
stanza of our national anthem:

     Tis the Star-Spangled Banner. O long may it wave
     O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

  Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further 
proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with, and that I be 
allowed to proceed in morning business for 4 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from Michigan.

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