June 14 is Flag Day in the US. The period from Memorial Day to July Fourth is what I consider “US patriotism and history month,” since there are several commemorations, holidays, and so on, all centered on US history.
Flags and banners go a very, very long way back in time. You needed to be able to identify who was “us” and who was “them,” ideally from a distance. And once tribal bands became armies, being able to find who was where and get messages to them grew in importance. Standards, banners, colored drapes over ordinary clothes to mark “with me” and “bad guys over there,” were adopted by many groups. Flags and standards also had other meanings, religious in some cases, or as reminders of past accomplishments by a specific regiment or army. To capture someone’s flag or standard meant you had defeated them, or at the very least slapped them in the face and dishonored them. Flags took on a lot more meaning than just “We’re all bunched up over here.”
When the thirteen British colonies finally decided to separate from the mother country, they needed a banner to unite them, and to show who was whom. If you look at the different banners used at the time, many have both symbol and text on them, like the heraldic crests from Europe and Britain. The navy jack is probably the best known (Don’t Tread on Me) with its nod to older, Scottish and European mottoes (“Noli me Tangere” Don’t touch me, or “Touch Not the Cat but with a Glove”). On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved funds for a very simple design, no text, but something with symbolism and that did NOT incorporate parts of the Union Jack or English flag*. Thirteen stripes of alternating red and white, and thirteen white stars on a blue field.
It wasn’t until 1877 that Flag Day became something to commemorate, in part because it was a way to bridge the yawning chasm between the different states. Reconstruction was ending, for good or for ill, and this was one way to remind everyone of a shared belief and heritage. However, it didn’t catch on as a national event sponsored by the US government until WWI [sound familiar], and then was designated as an annual celebration by Congress in 1949.
Today it is a day to fly the flag, to argue over the meaning(s), and to brace for the July 4th sales ads that are about to inundate us.
*They are different. The English flag is part of the Union Jack, as is the Scottish flag.
Cat Rotator's Quarterly 
When I was very young (in a Brownies troop) we learned the flag code (when to fly/not fly an American flag, how to respectfully destroy an old, worn-out flag, etc).
In the 60s there was a lot of controversy about using the American flag as part of an article of clothing. The offenders tended to be young anti-war protesters. The Supreme Court said that doing this was a First Amendment right.
Today the American flag is used for clothing, mistreated on car antennas (whipped to ragged strips), sold with peoples’ faces on it . . .
I may have to see the dentist for a broken tooth, I grit my teeth so hard.
I’m mostly OK with flag patches on jackets if they are positioned correctly. Respectful tee-shirt? Mamaaaaayyyybe, but the respectful part eliminates 99.99% of designs. Otherwise nope!
I admit that I have a tee-shirt with an excellent bald eagle head in profile and an American flag waving in the background. I save it for the 4th of July.
I fly mine every day!
Flag Day was also the US Army’s birthday!
Thank you for the reminder. I come from a Navy-inclined family, so we tend to let Army days pass without observation. (No, there’s not a religious difference involved at all, noooooo.)