On Thursday, May 10, a piece of American history showed up at the Veteran Services Office, along with a few local heroes who have served during that period.
An original 48-star American flag that was flown on the USS Harnett County Warship was brought into the office by Charles Wilson, who served on the USS Harnett County Warship during the Vietnam War.
This flag’s history began on July 4, 1912, when the U.S. flag grew to 48 stars with the addition of New Mexico (Jan. 6, 1912) and Arizona (Feb. 14, 1912). An executive order of President William Howard Taft, dated June 24, 1912, established the proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward. This flag was official for 47 years, longer than any other flag, through two World Wars and the emergence of the United States of America as the leading nation of the world. Eight presidents served under this flag: William H. Taft (1909-13), Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921), Warren Harding (1921-1923), Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929), Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945), Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961).
Anson County’s local heroes that served during these periods of the 48-star flag stopped by the Veterans Services Office on May 10 for a photo with the historic flag.