'FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY' HONORED BY CIRCLE OF FLAGS AT WASHINGTON MONUMENT
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) At 9 o'clock on the morning of February 22, 1922, "forty-eight flags, one for each state in the Union, flew...around the base of the Washington Monument" in honor of the 190th birthday of George Washington, "The Father of His Country."
Buglers from Fort Myer sounded colors while officers of the High School Cadets circled the monument. Frederick D. Owen, representing the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, directed the ceremonies, assisted by Colonel Wallace M. Craigie, commander of the Cadets.
Colonel C.O. Sherrill placed a wreath at the door of the shaft "in the name of" President Warren G. Harding. A second wreath was presented by F.L. Harvey, secretary of the Washington National Monument Society*.
*WNMS was founded in 1833 to take charge of erecting a memorial to George Washington on the National Mall. When fund raising proved unsuccessful, the society served as advisers to the Congressional committee charged with completing the monument.
SOURCES
"Forty-eight Flags Encircle Washington Shaft," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., February 22, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"Washington National Monument Society," Histories of the National Mall, www.mailhistory.org/
