Trump Issues Presidential Message on Honoring the American Flag Ahead of Veterans Day
Washington — The White House on November 7 released President Donald J. Trump's Presidential Message on Honoring the American Flag. In the message, issued on the Saturday before Veterans Day, Trump said the American flag has stood for nearly two and a half centuries as a symbol of freedom, and that Americans should recommit to treating the Stars and Stripes with the utmost respect, dignity and reverence.
Trump recalled two moments in American history: the Star-Spangled Banner waving above Fort McHenry, and the raising of the flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima. He said that in every generation and on every battlefield, the flag has shone as a beacon of hope and liberty in the face of tyranny and oppression, and that honoring the flag and never allowing it to be dishonored or desecrated is the solemn duty of every American patriot.
The message cited the flag-etiquette rules in Title 4, Section 8 of the United States Code, which states that the flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing, and that when a flag has served its purpose and is no longer a fitting emblem for display, it should be retired in a dignified way, preferably by burning. Trump said veterans service organizations, scouting groups and patriotic Americans across the country carry out those retirement ceremonies with solemn respect.
Trump said he signed an executive order last year to prosecute those who desecrate the flag to the fullest extent of the law, and that under his leadership anyone who defiles the flag will face swift justice, including foreign nationals who break the law and incite violence. The message also announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a new online initiative this month with information on how to properly respect, treat and retire the American flag.
Trump closed by noting that the flag has flown over battlefields and homesteads, been carried into combat by America's bravest warriors, and been draped over the caskets of heroes who paid the ultimate price to preserve freedom, and he called on Americans to continue defending the values embodied by the Stars and Stripes. (Source: The White House)
Source: The White House
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：白宫北立面全景，屋顶上飘扬美国国旗。照片：Aaron Zhu，CC BY-SA 3.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The White House north facade, with the American flag flying above the roof. Photo by Aaron Zhu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
