Profile America
Saturday, June 14th

Today is Flag Day — marking the day in 1777 when John Adams proposed the stars and stripes as the official flag of the United States. A national ceremony will be held at Fort McHenry in Baltimore — where the sight of the flag still flying after an extended battle with the British inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem, now the words of the national anthem. Flag Day events often center around reciting the pledge of allegiance. The familiar words were written by an ordained minister named Francis Bellamy and first recited in public in 1892 by schoolchildren at a Columbus Day ceremony. Making flags, banners and pennants is a $5.5 billion a year business in the U.S. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.