How Nebraskans Salute the Flag – A Brief History

Congress made the flag code into law in 1942 and established National Flag Day in 1949. The flag code serves as the guide for all handling and display of the flag, but it does not impose penalties for the misuse of the flag (CRS Report). According to the flag code, “When not in uniform men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute” (Smithsonian). The flag code doesn’t discuss hat behavior for women. But manners expert Emily Post dictates that fashion hats can be left on when saluting the flag because they are usually pinned on and difficult to remove. Women do need to remove unisex hats or ball caps (Emily Post Institute). 

Why We Salute the Flag 

The origin of the hand-to-forehead salute isn’t clear, but the U.S. Marines Corps’ website discusses several possibilities. In medieval days, mounted, armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when meeting friends. Another explanation is that when assassinations by dagger were common, people approached each other with their hands raised, palm to the front, to display that they held no concealed weapon. The final – and most likely – explanation is that the hand salute evolved from the British navy because it was the first part of how sailors uncovered their heads in front of a senior.

Generally, Americans love the flag. We put American flags on beef jerky wrappers we use to wipe the salt and gristle off our fingers in lieu of a napkin and throw it away. Or we grab a flag-bedecked napkin, then throw that away. We put them on bikinis and swim trunks and beer cans. We wrap American flags around naked women and photograph them. Then, if you’re like my high school history teacher, you display that picture right behind your desk so it’s at eye-level with your students when they come to ask you a question. All of this is explicitly forbidden by the U.S. Flag Code, which says the flag should never be used as a costume or athletic uniform (and American flag bikinis are neither). The code also forbids flags to be “printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard” and the flag “should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything” (including holding beer and naked women). While the code is really only a set of guidelines, flags and what they mean to us can strike deep emotional chords – just consider the Confederate flag controversy of last summer. We care so much about our flag that we have a code to govern how we behave around it. But then we care so little that the code does not apply to flags on material goods like bug spray, pizza boxes, lawn chairs, or food. Or, you could argue that we value the Stars and Stripes so much that we don’t want it to be on a pole or a pedestal, but with us in our everyday lives – bedecking our shirts and sheets and wiping our lips.

The dress code has relaxed considerably in our country, and the hat is no longer considered an essential part of Americans’ leaving-the-house wardrobe. Even more remarkable, then, is our communal act of removing our hats when the flag passes by us. This rule was not practiced for the first 150 years of the United States’ existence, but it has survived 80 years of cultural upheavals about what patriotism means for Americans. Whether it’s covering a casket of a fallen soldier, wrapped around the shoulders of an Olympic athlete, flying from the top of a skyscraper in New York, or hanging from a windmill in Nebraska, we salute it. With our hands and our hearts and, generally, without our hats.