The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1944-06-15
FLAG DAY
SERVICES
HELD HERE
Ii. Col. RiegIe Speaker al
Impressive Ceremony
al EIks Hall

Marked by impressive ceremonies
Flag Day was observed last eve
ming at the Elks Hall by mem
bers of the Elks and assembled
citizens of Gastineau Channel, in
Guiding various fraternal groups.
The evolution of the Flag OF the
United States was described by r
E. Robertson, who traced the his
tory of the emblem from the day
in the early sixteenth century when
the English explorer Cabot landed
at Labrador up to the present day
The talk was illustrated by nine
flags of the various stages of the
country's history, displayed by a
group of Girl Scouts.
The Flag Day address was given
by 1t. Col. Roy w. Riegle, who
prefaced his remarks with an ex-
preston of pleasure at again. visit
ing Juneau, where he spent IL
months as Commanding Officer al
Duck Creek.
Following is the text of 1t. Col
Riegles address:
MY Fellow Citizens: We meet
TO celebrate Flag Day, because tbs tbs
Flag which we honor and under
which we serve is the emblem OF
our unity, our power, our thought
and purpose as nation. The
hopes and aspirations, the joys and
sorrows, the romance and chivalry
of the human race are symbolized
in flags We find their origin in
Divinity itself, when Jehovah, after
the Flood, unfurled in the heavens
the first flag-the multicolored
banner of the rainbow-as signal
of danger passed, of safety assured
Mortal man, since that time, has
in his humbled, earthly way, used
emblems and banners of various
kinds to express his hopes, his
struggles, and his accomplishments
Evolution of Flag
when man began to emerge
from his state of isolated savagery
and started to live in tribes, one
of the first needs he felt was an
emblem which would enable him in
battle to distinguish the members
of his tribe from his enemies.
'At first this was accomplished
by using clubs of certain pattern,
or decorating the body with color
ed clay. Then when shields, clumsy
as they were, came into use, a
special device or insignia was placed
on the shield. In the course OF
time these crude devices we're sup
plemented by skins of animals
fastened to poles SO that they could
be seen and recognized at consid-
cradle distances.
From these primitive beginnings
may be traced the origin and evo-
luton OF the flags of civilized man
Just as the Gross on Calvary is
the symbol of the Christian re-
ligion and of our belief in immor-
tality, SO the American Flag is the
emblem of our greatness and our
glory as people and as a nation
1T is not the flag that floats above
a people that makes a nation great;
it is the people that make the flag
great. We are the Flag. We are
the Nation.
1.-THE greatness, the real great
ness, of a nation is not measured
by it's size, or it's material wealth
Rather it is measured by the spirit
ual qualities of its people, by their
virtues of wisdom, fortitude, hui
mainly, charity, temperance, integ-
rity, truth and Righteousness. A
nation is made great not by its
fruitful acres, but by the men who
|cultivate them; not by it's mines
but by the men who work in them
not by it's railways, but by the mer
who built and run them.
Strength of America
THE strength of America lies II
her sons and daughters, for the mer
land women of a nation make thai
nation great or small, depraved o.
noble. 1t is not harvest fields OF
swarming cities, nor great rivers OF
high mountains, that set the name.
OF nations high in history. If il
were streams or SUBMITS or rocl
that established the strength of ma