PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: U.S. Territories Will Be Honored in Flag-Raising Ceremony June 14

WHAT:    A Flag Day ceremony to mark the addition of four U.S. territory flags to the

                National Museum of American History’s outdoor display of the 50 state flags

                and those of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

WHEN:    Tuesday, June 14

                 8:45 a.m.: Media arrival

                 9 a.m.: Ceremony begins

WHERE: Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

                Flag Hall

                Madison Drive between 12th and 14th Streets N.W.

WHO:     Anthea M. Hartig, Elizabeth MacMillan Director, National Museum of American

                History

               Representatives from American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the

               Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands

               The Smithsonian Ceremonial Honor Guard

Since 1916, Flag Day has been commemorated in the United States. On Flag Day, June 14, the National Museum of American History will host a ceremony to honor the raising of four flags belonging to the Unincorporated Territories of the United States: American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

The flags will be added to those that fly across the building’s façade on the terrace and are integral to the museum’s design, emphasizing political unity and the museum’s role in telling the complicated story of American history. The nation’s flagship history museum is the home of the Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired the words to what became the national anthem. Images from the event will be available upon request from the Office of Communications and Marketing.

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