Nevada Guard hosting 20th annual Flag Day, U.S. Army birthday ceremony

The Nevada National Guard is set to host its 20th annual Flag Day and U.S. Army’s 243rd birthday celebration at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Nevada Veterans Memorial on Capitol grounds, 101 N. Carson St.

This year’s ceremony will feature keynote speaker Caleb Cage, chief of the Nevada Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security advisor.

Before working for the state, Cage, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army captain, served two deployments in the Iraq War.

Nevada Army Guard Chief of Staff Col. Cory Schulz will also speak during the event.

The event is free and open to the public and will include the Nevada State Archive’s 36-star, 1860s-era American flag first raised over Fort Ruby in 1864 following Nevada statehood; a historical flag presentation from the Nevada Air National Guard; a bagpiper; the local chapter of the Sons of American Revolution; and cakes marking the U.S. Army’s birthday.

The U.S. Army is two years older than the U.S. Flag. A resolution of the Continental Congress authorized 10 companies of riflemen on June 14, 1775, giving birth to the U.S. Army. Two years later, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act and adopted the stars-and-stripes design as our nation’s flag. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman signed an act of Congress designating June 14 as National Flag Day.