Cameron University will display more than 7,000 American flags across campus from Monday, November 3, through Wednesday, November 12, as the lead-up to the university’s annual observance of Veterans Day. Residents of southwest Oklahoma are invited to visit CU to pay homage to the patriotism and service of America’s military while the flags are on display.
The CU tradition of displaying American flags on Veterans Day began in 2011 as part of the Remembrance Roll Call, a national initiative on college and university campuses. Originally, each flag commemorated a service member whose life was lost during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even though the Remembrance Roll Call initiative has ended, Cameron continues to display the flags in honor of all veterans and service members.
The U.S. flag represents the freedoms that the country was founded on: freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion. The 13 stripes signify the struggle for independence undertaken by the original 13 colonies, and the colors of the flag have symbolic meaning as well. In 1782, Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, conveyed the meaning of each color when proposing a design for the U.S. Seal, stating, “White signifies purity and innocence; red, hardness and valor; and blue, vigilance, perseverance and justice.”
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PR# 25-125
