Flag Day was voted to be a permanent national observance on August 3, 1949, when the U.S. Congress passed an act establishing June 14 as National Flag Day and President Harry S. Truman signed it into law.

Quick Scoop

  • Congress passed legislation in 1949 to make Flag Day a permanent annual observance on June 14.
  • President Truman’s signature on August 3, 1949, completed the process and formally established National Flag Day.
  • Even with this permanent status, Flag Day is not a federal paid holiday; it is an official national observance, and Pennsylvania is the only state that treats it as a state holiday.

A Bit of Story

Before it became permanent, Flag Day had a long informal history. Presidents and local communities observed June 14 as Flag Day for decades, and President Woodrow Wilson first issued a proclamation for Flag Day in 1916, but it took until 1949 for Congress to lock it in as a permanent national observance.

TL;DR: Flag Day was voted to be a permanent national observance on August 3, 1949, when Congress acted and President Truman signed the law making June 14 National Flag Day every year.

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