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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Flag Day will be marked in Los Angeles County today by a distribution of 100 hygiene kits to homeless veterans living on and near the grounds of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Each hygiene kit will include basic toiletries, a face mask and water bottle, according to Pat Peterson, the president of Santa Monica Republican Women Federated, whose Caring for America Committee will be conducting the distribution.
A 90-foot-tall waving animated American flag will be displayed on the Ferris wheel at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier from sunset to 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, along with custom computer-generated lighting entertainment of red, white and blue colors, patterns and transitions.
Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the red, white and blue stars and stripes flag by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.
President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1916 officially establishing June 14 as Flag Day. President Harry Truman signed a joint congressional resolution into law in 1949 designating June 14 as Flag Day.
In his Flag Day proclamation, President Joe Biden wrote, “Since adoption of the Stars and Stripes, Americans -- and people around the world -- have continuously looked to our flag as a symbol of unity and liberty. Our flag has sailed around the globe, and journeyed to the Moon and now to Mars.
“It has flown on fields of battle, and marks the resting places of those who have given what President Lincoln called `the last full measure of devotion' for our country. Its prominence at civic landmarks and seats of public authority communicates the promise of democracy -- that under this flag, the rule of law is supreme and the people reign.
“As we continue the sacred work of building a more perfect Union together, let our flag serve as a reminder to us, and to the world, that America stands for and strives for the promise of freedom, justice, and equality for all.''
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