Star Spangled Banner

O thus be it ever when freemen shall standBetween their loved homes and the war's desolation!Blest with victory and peace may the heaven-rescued landPraise the Power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just.And this be our motto, 'In God is our trust.'And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall waveO'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.VETERANS DAY, which the nation celebrates Monday, is not only an opportune time to ponder the holiday's origin -- as Armistice Day in World War I -- but also to reflect on "The Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem that became so much a part of that era. To be sure, Francis Scott Key's stanzas made up America's anthem before April 1917, when the nation's war resolution was passed, but there had been little occasion for most Americans to learn and sing the song.

The controversy generated by a new Spanish-language version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is a reminder of the rich history of the 200-year-old Baltimore flag that inspired our national anthem. The enormous, 30-by-42-foot banner hung in a central place of honor in the National Museum of American History from its opening in 1964 until 1998, when it was moved to a laboratory on the same floor, where visitors have been able to watch while a conservation team has worked to clean and stabilize its fragile fabric.

To learn about more family-friendly events, go to www.SunSpot.net/familyfunHonor the flag, our national symbol of freedom, Saturday, Flag Day, at venues and events throughout the area. Here are just a few of the happenings: The National Flag Day Foundation sponsors the "Pause for the Pledge of Allegiance" event at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Fort Avenue, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Patriotic music and fireworks after the pledge. Citizens across the country are encouraged to recite the pledge at 7 p.m. Admission $5; free for ages 16 and under.

Washington-- --No bright lights. No more exposure to dirt and debris from outdoors. But much more information about the flag that flew over Baltimore's Fort McHenry in 1814 and why it's such an important piece of U.S. history. That's the way visitors will see the original Star-Spangled Banner when it goes back on public display next year as the centerpiece of the National Museum of American History on the National Mall. After being out of view since September 2006, the flag will be featured in a new Star-Spangled Banner gallery when the museum at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue Northwest reopens after an $85 million renovation.

The U.S. Postal Service will raise 20 U.S. flags at Fort McHenry on Wednesday. But rather than billow in the breeze, these tiny flags will stick to envelopes. With Baltimore as host city, the Postal Service will release a set of 20 flag-themed stamps that detail the history of the American flag. Suggested by citizens, the flag series has been in development for about three years. Einar V. Dyhrkopp, chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors, will dedicate the stamps at a ceremony scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

Before anyone launches Swift Boats for the True Spirit of the National Anthem, let's get one thing clear: The subdued arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner being heard in Athens every time gold is awarded to American Olympians is not part of some dastardly, U.S.-against-Them, patriotism-deflating plot. I guess it's just another sign of these testy times that some folks are stirring up a little tempest about the fact that the rockets have not been glaring reddish enough, the bombs not bursting in air bombastically enough to celebrate our athletic prowess appropriately.

Defender's DayGo back in time and meet one of American history's most notable couples, as Mr. and Mrs. Francis Scott Key come to life at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Saturday. Living-history actors Alan Gephardt and Sonia Socha portray the couple. Hear Mr. Key's recollections of the bombs bursting in air as he recounts tales of the bombardment of Baltimore in 1814. And listen in as Mrs. Key describes her hectic life -- married to the famous Georgetown lawyer and raising 11 children.

For the first time in history, my poetry contest has become mired in controversy."I just don't understand the winning entry," Moe, one of my Poetry Policemen, said. "And I want an explanation."OK, I said, here goes: My favorite part of going to an Oriole's game, that part that makes an O's game unique in professional baseball, is when the crowd sings the Star-Spangled Banner and then shouts out "Oh!" when it comes to the part about "Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave . . .""So?"

The historic campus of the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House & 1812 Museum will be enhanced and a new 12,600-square-foot building constructed starting early next year, compliments of a bequest from former Baltimore harbormaster Jean Hofmeister, officials said yesterday. Set to go before the city zoning board and design advisory panel this month, museum officials plan a new building north of the Flag House at 844 E. Pratt St., where seamstress Mary Pickersgill made the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British attack in 1814.

Washington - In near darkness, it appears almost as an apparition. Like reliquary, the tattered flag is displayed behind glass in a new temperature- and light-controlled chamber, the bones not of a saint but of a nation. So these are the broad stripes and, once, bright stars. So this is the flag that withstood the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air. So this is the star-spangled banner that yet waved after a night of bombing, its survival signaling that the nation, too, had survived and inspiring Francis Scott Key to write what would become the national anthem.