**Carl Bohm and William Smith with American Legion Post #8 in Denison are pictured with the six fifth graders from Broadway Elementary School who participated in a flag essay contest.** Photo by Gordon Wolf

American Legion Post #8 in Denison sponsored a flag essay contest for fifth graders. On March 11 the six fifth graders who participated read their essays for the Legion members and their families.

Cash prizes were awarded for first through third places.

Cindy Barosso wrote the first-place essay. Alex Htoo’s essay won second place and Kendra Barosso’s essay won third place. Other students who wrote essays are Juan Mancilla, Adrian Romero and Jaxon Edick.

Following are the students’ essays.

The respect for the flag and the time of display
By Cindy Barroso

Respecting the flag is the most important thing in the United States. It is essential to stand up and put your hand on your heart and take off your hat when you're doing the Pledge of Allegiance to show respect towards the veterans who died. Every June 14th we celebrate the national flag. We celebrate on this day because that was when the banner design was confirmed on June 14 of 1777.

We respect the flag every day, not just on June 14. There are many different ways to respect the national flag. Initially, “always keep the flag standing up straight.” Secondly, “the flag should never touch anything underneath it, such as the floor, ground, water and merchandise.” Another thing that disrespects the flag is “carrying the flag flat and horizontally, but it always has to be aloft and free.”

Another topic that I want to talk about is the time and occasions for the display of the national flag. Initially, “the flag should always be displayed from sunrise to sunset on buildings, and also on stationary staff openings.” However sometimes the “flag may be displayed 24 hours a day because during the night you can’t see the flag, so you will need to put lights around the flag.” Secondly, “if there is poor weather the flag should not be displayed during that time.” For example, the “weather that would delay the display of the flag are rain, snow, and wind storms.” Lastly, the flag is usually displayed at all times. “The flag is usually displayed on New Year's Day.” “It’s also displayed on Martin Luther King Jr's birthday.”

I think respecting the flag is very necessary in your life. I also think the time and display is very respectful for the flag because it represents the freedom of our country.

The Stars and Stripes
By Alex Htoo

The flag of the United States of America is a major symbol here in the U.S.A., representing freedom, pride and liberty. Americans recite the patriotic verse, the Pledge of Allegiance, in front of the flag. The Pledge of Allegiance is a way to show loyalty and unity to the country.

Congress adopted the stars and stripes as the official flag of the United States of America on June 14, 1777. There are 50 stars representing the 50 states, 13 stripes representing the original 13 colonies. The flag colors were chosen carefully. The red symbolizes hardness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents perseverance and justice.

The flag shall not be disrespected under any circumstances. The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

“The flag must not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all-weather flag is displayed.”

I think that the flag should be respected and honored. It has had a big role throughout the 248 years we have gained independence.

No other flag should be displayed above the flag or the same level of the flag. The flag code states that the flag should not touch anything beneath it, including the ground.

A fact about the American flag is that the current flag has been the only one to have lasted well over 50 years.

Americans show patriotism. It’s a powerful feeling of love towards our country. It’s about celebrating our culture and achievements that make our nation special. It’s amazing how the flag has changed over time but still has the same meaning. It’s a reminder of the sacrifices people made by those before us and of the freedom and opportunities we have as Americans.

Reasons why we need to respect our flag
By Kendra Barroso

We should never disrespect our flag because it has a lot of great history to it and more meaning behind it. It means freedom in our country; that's why English families came to America.

Some of the history of the flag is that Betsy Ross came up with the original American flag which had 13 stars for the 13 colonies. We actually have 13 red and white stripes right now to represent the old flag. Also, President George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross asked Betsy Ross to make the American Flag.

The flag we have right now was made by a 17-year-old for a history project. He heard that Alaska and Hawaii were going to become the two new states of America, so he wanted to make a new flag for his history project. He spent all night making a new flag with 50 stars instead of 48. When he went to turn it in, he only got a B-. He asked his teacher if or how he could get extra credit. His teacher told him if he could call the White House and make that the actual flag of America, he would get a better grade. So he called the White House many times and sent them many letters and then got a call telling him they would make his flag the American flag.

Did you also know the American flag was changed 27 times?

There are many rules to follow when we hold the flag. The first rule is the flag should never be displayed down and it should never touch “the ground nor anything beneath it.” The other things that the flag should never touch are “the floor, water, merchandise” etc. My thoughts on this rule are that I think it is an important rule because people don’t want to damage the flag.

The second rule is the flag should never be in folds and to never be drawn on. If you draw on the flag that would be very disrespectful and if it's an old flag, then it´ll be torn and ruined very easily. If it's folded, then it can also be ruined and torn apart easily.

The last rule is the flag should never be embroidered on anything that you can throw away. That would show a lot of disrespect, though if it is embroidered on (the uniform of) “military personnel, firemen, policemen” etc, it’s okay, but it needs to be embroidered near the heart.

Those are the reasons why we should respect the flag, and some of the history behind it. I think that we should respect the flag because it shows freedom and it's “the home of the brave.”

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The American Flag
by Jaxon Edick

The flag is an important part of America. It represents freedom and liberty. The flag has 13 stripes to represent the 13 colonies. The flag also has stars to represent the 50 states.

First are some quotes from “Speech on Flag Day” about National Flag Day, and my opinion on the flag.

National Flag Day has been observed for some years by official direction on June 14. It is the anniversary of the adoption by the Congress of the flag of the United States. We do honor to the Stars and Stripes as the emblem of our country and the symbol of all that our patriotism means. The stars of the red, white and blue have a level of their own, but when combined and arranged into the flag of our nation they take on a new significance which no other form or color can convey. We identify the flag with almost everything we hold dear on earth.

My opinion on the flag is that the flag should be respected. The reason why is because it has held our freedom and justice for over 225 years, including that it has its own patriotic verse called the Pledge of Allegiance. Here is part of the verse. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, pride, and justice for all.”

Also a way to respect the flag is to not let that flag touch ground, water or merchandise. Also, the red color on the flag stands for hardiness and valor, blue for vigilance, perseverance and justice and finally white for purity and innocence. I feel pride in my opinion, knowing that I feel free in this beautiful country of America.

Thank you for your time and service.

The Allegiance Essay
By Adrian Romero

Today, I will be talking about the Pledge of Allegiance. I will talk of what we should do when we say the Pledge of Allegiance. We should know what to say because we do it every single day in school.

Here’s how the Pledge of Allegiance goes: “I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” While you say the Pledge of Allegiance you have to look at the flag, put your right hand over your heart, take any headdress off unless you have a uniform. If you have a uniform, you face the flag, stay silent, and do the military salute.

When you look at the flag right now there are 50 stars which represent 50 states and 13 stripes which represent the original 13 colonies. But back then on the first flag, which was made during the (time of the) Declaration of Independence, there were 13 stars on the flag and 13 stripes. The 13 stars and 13 stripes both represent the original 13 colonies.

The Declaration of Independence was made in 1776. The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in human history. The document was an official act taken by all 13 American colonies declaring independence from when the British ruled.

But besides the Declaration of Independence, when you look at the flag, don’t mess around because there were veterans who lost their lives. So, if you see a veteran say “thank you for your service.” There were a lot of battles, like in World War I and World War II. In both of those wars there were around 60 million deaths. Sixty million is a big number. So don't disrespect the flag, and every single day you should honor the flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rules that we have to follow to respect the American flag
By Juan Mancilla

Today I will be talking about the American flag rules. We should never forget the American flag and we have to respect it at all times.

The American Flag should be respected and honored. The flag has 50 stars representing the 50 states and the 13 stripes representing the original 13 colonies.

“The flag never should be displayed union down except if there was a signal for desired distress or extreme danger to life or property.”

The American flag cannot be touching the ground, water, etc.

We can not store the American flag anywhere where it can be damaged in any way.

''The American flag should not be used for advertising for any reason.”

If the American flag is not in good condition to be displayed it has to be destroyed. It is preferred for the flag to be burned.

I chose this American flag topic because I wanted to share with others the American flag rules and how to respect it. I also picked this topic because it sounded interesting to me.

Every year on National Flag Day we celebrate the American flag. National Flag Day is on June 14. It's the day we honor our flag. It's a very special day for America. The American flag should never be forgotten as it represents liberty and freedom. We should be proud of our country and where we live. Thanks to America, we have liberty and freedom for all.

The American flag was made by a 17-year-old for a history project he had at school. He brought the flag to school but he only got a B-. His teacher said “If you call the White House and make it the official flag, you will get a better grade.” So then he called the White House and sent multiple letters. Then he got a call from the White House. They said, “We are going to make your flag the official flag of the United States of America.” The next day he told his teacher, and the teacher gave him a better grade.

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