Flag Day and the United States Army's 239th Birthday!

If you don't already know, Saturday is Flag Day in the USA and also the United States Army 239^th Birthday.

Here are some fun facts about the US Army:

1. Twenty-four presidents served in the Army, to include the various state militias, which supported the Army during conflicts throughout our history. Of them, 23 were officers, with Private James Buchanan earning distinction as the only enlisted man to ever be elected president. Teddy Roosevelt is the only president to have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Roosevelt even volunteered for service in World War I?ten years after having served as president.
2. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought by militias. The men were famously called to arms by Paul Revere, who did not shout "he British are coming!" because most residents of Massachusetts considered themselves British.
3. Once it became clear that a serious war was at hand, the Second Continental Congress authorized a Continental Army with a unified command structure, to be led by Major General George Washington. The measure passed on June 14, 1775, and is still celebrated as the Army's birthday, which makes the US Army older than the United States itself!
4. Army Astronauts are real! Soldiers who jump from airplanes wear Airborne wings. Those who rappel from helicopters wear Air Assault wings. Those who fly into space wear Astronaut wings. Colonel Douglas Wheelock wears all three. In 2010, he logged his 163rd day in space after serving as the first active duty soldier to command the International Space Station. (The following year, he deployed to Afghanistan, and has flown thirty-eight aerial combat missions.)
5. According to the Special Forces Command Public Affairs Office, in the last decade U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers have deployed to 135 of the 195 recognized countries in the world.
6. As of 2013, there are approximately 562,000 active duty soldiers, 205,000 reserve soldiers, and 362,000 soldiers in the National Guard for a total of 1,129,000 members of the U.S. Army.
7. The military tank got its name when they were first shipped to France during World War I. For security reasons they were packed into huge wooden crates which were supposed to contain water tanks and the name stuck.

On another note: During the Civil War, the national flag that the Union Army carried was not altered. President Lincoln still held to the hope that the country would one day be united again and did not have the Confederate State Stars removed from the Flag.

We here at Lion Country Supply support our men and women in our Armed Forces and give a big THANK YOU for all the sacrifices that they make for the defense of our great country. This Saturday, consider hanging out a new flag or replacing an old one where you live. Soldiers and veterans alike sure do like and appreciate seeing proud Americans flying the colors that they defended and still defend to this day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNITED STATES ARMY! THIS WE'll DEFEND!

Jim Schrock
US ARMY VETERAN
LCS SHIPPING