Rally Around the Flag for Americanism Month

The American Legion has recognized the month of February as Americanism Month since 1960, following the passing of Resolution No. 163 at the national convention in Miami Beach, Fla.

In The American Legion's Preamble, it states “to foster and perpetuate a 100-percent Americanism.” American Legion Family members achieve this by conducting programs that fall under the American Legion’s Americanism pillar – Legion Baseball, Oratorical Contest, Boys State, Boys Nation, Junior Shooting Sports, Scouting and flag education.

“The American Legion believes in the U.S. flag and everything it stands for, and Legionnaires who fought for the nation’s symbol take deep pride in it,” said Americanism Commission Chairman Richard Anderson. “To foster and perpetuate a 100 percent Americanism, we must instill respect for our flag among youth through our Americanism programs. The American Legion’s Americanism programs cultivate pride in our nation and the great symbol of our nation, Old Glory.”

Since early 2021, The American Legion has been invigorating pride for and building awareness about why the U.S. flag matters with its Rally Around the Flag imitative. To support this effort, The American Legion has created 50 Rally Around the Flag messages that can be shared on social media. These social media graphics feature historical notes, fun facts and voices from history about Old Glory. Download the Rally Around the Flag social media graphics here.

We have also encouraged people to share their flag moment. For example, 16-year-old Valen Younger of Redondo Beach, Calif., and his family purchased a new U.S. flag to replace their torn and tattered one. He and his father, a retired Air Force veteran and Legionnaire, had the idea to collect unserviceable flags for proper disposal. Valen made a flyer and he, his 12-year-old brother and 9-year-old sister, distributed it to about 30 of their neighbors asking if they had an American flag they needed to properly dispose of. Valen and his siblings collected a handful of flags. They took the flags to the fire station and placed them in the flag drop off box.

“Knowing that these ‘Old Glories’ will be properly taken care of and won’t be thrown in the trash is a great feeling!” Younger said. 

Read submissions from people about their flag moment at legion.org/flag.

Tell us about your pride for the symbol of unity and freedom by sharing your story with photo at legiontown.org under the category “Rally Around the Flag.”