Claim: E-mail exhorts Americans to fly the U.S. flag on September 11.
Example:[Collected via e-mail, August 2007]
Please join this FLY THE FLAG campaign and PLEASE forward this email immediately to everyone in your address book asking them to also forward it. We have a little less than one week and counting to get the word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America. We can do it!
THE PROGRAM IS THIS:
**On Tuesday, September 11th, 2007**, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual could make it their duty to display an American flag on this anniversary of our country's worst tragedy. We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds. Let the younger generations see what has existed in America for all of its history. The love of country over the love of politics!
Action Plan: So, here's what we can do...
(1) Forward this email to everyone you know (at least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.
(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.
Thank you for your participation. God Bless You and God Bless America
Please join us in this FLY THE FLAG campaign and PLEASE forward this email immediately to everyone in your address book asking them to also forward it.
Origins: The example cited above is an updating of an item we first saw back in 2005 and again 2006, the text largely unchanged from those earlier versions.
This exhortation for all Americans to fly their flags on the sixth anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. is neither true nor false in the sense that everyone is free to follow its advice or not, but we're listing it as "true" because every year since 2001, when Congress designated September 11 as Patriot Day as a discretionary day of remembrance in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, the President has issued a proclamation calling upon government officials and the people of the United States to observe the day by displaying the flag of the United States.
An important piece of information missing from the e-mailed exhortation is that the President's Patriot Day proclamations call upon the American people to "display the flag at half-staff from their homes," as the occasion is a day of remembrance for honoring the dead. Since many flags used for home display are not designed to be flown at half-staff, an accepted alternative should be employed by persons with such flags, such as attaching a black ribbon or streamer (the same width as a stripe on the flag and the same length as the flag itself) to the top of the flag.
The President's 2007 proclamation also calls upon "the people of the United States to observe Patriot Day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and remembrance services" and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. eastern daylight time to honor the innocent Americans and people from around the world who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Last updated: 8 September 2007
The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/rumors/tributes/flytheflag.asp
