Verse l

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Verse ll

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Verse lII

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Verse lV

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

See Thom Hartmann's Take On The Anthem.

Mrs. America, Diane Tucker, 2007
In honor of the National Anthem Project

A History of The Anthem

The song of our nation was penned by Washington attorney Francis Scott Key at a dramatic moment during the War of 1812. On the night of September 13, 1814, Key watched as our country was attacked by the British navy at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, MD.

After watching the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air throughout the night, dawn broke. Key was expecting to find Baltimore firmly under British control, but was stunned to see a battered but still flying American flag waving in the sunrise. So inspired was Key that he wrote the poem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which became the nation’s national anthem, a bit of verse written by a pro-slavery lawyer, put to the melody of a British song that praised drinking and sex, and set to a tune attributed to John Stafford Smith, “To Anacreon in Heaven”. It ironically became America's national anthem in 1931.

Today, having never heard more than the first verse, many Americans are not aware that there are four verses to the Anthem, while some Christian groups especially sing the 1st and 4th verses as a matter of course. Hear The Star-Spangled Banner. See To The Greatest Generation...Before You Go. See Thom Hartmann's Take On The Anthem. See The National Anthem As You've Never Heard It. See In The Arms of An Angel. See Racist History of Our National Anthem. --

The Revised Rules For Saluting The U.S. Flag
Law Allows Retirees and Veterans to Salute Flag

Traditionally, members of the nation's veterans service organizations have rendered the hand-salute during the national anthem and at events involving the national flag only while wearing their organization’s official head-gear.

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 contained an amendment to allow un-uniformed service members, military retirees, and veterans to render a hand salute during the hoisting, lowering, or passing of the U.S. flag.

A later amendment further authorized hand-salutes during the national anthem by veterans and out-of-uniform military personnel. This was included in the Defense Authorization Act of 2009, which President Bush signed on Oct. 14, 2008.

Here is the actual text from the law:

SEC. 595. MILITARY SALUTE FOR THE FLAG DURING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM BY MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES NOT IN UNIFORM AND BY VETERANS.

Section 301(b)(1) of title 36, United States Code, is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (C) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:

(A) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note;

(B) members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute in the manner provided for individuals in uniform; and

(C) all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart;

Note: Part (C) applies to those not in the military and non-veterans. The phrase "men not in uniform" refers to civil service uniforms like police, fire fighters, and letter carriers - non-veteran civil servants who might normally render a salute while in uniform. --

See The Sikh Anthem.

      

Keep Up

The Sign

Freedom

Memorial

The Salute

God's Web

Dress Blues

Going Home

A Love Story

Khalsa Power

Patriotic Photos

For Marines Only

The Marine Sniper

SEAL The Mission

The Memorial Rock

Iwo Jima - The Battle

Born Again American

America The Beautiful

A Native American Hero

In The Arms of An Angel

Christmastime Arlington

Delta Airline Honor Guard

We Will Remember Them

The Sikh Warrior's Anthem

The Meaning of 'Semper Fi'

America's National Anthem

The After-Death Experience

The Greatest Story Never Told

A Tale of Six Boys On Iwo Jima

Look, Listen and Experience Peace

For Men Only: MasculineMoments.com

How The Marines Transform Me Into We

Museum of The American Military Family

To The Greatest Generation...Before You Go

U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Team With Rifles