15-foot-by-25-foot American flag dedicated at Fairhaven veterans memorial

JARED PABEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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BELLINGHAM - Driving into Fairhaven from downtown, it's hard to miss the 110-foot flag pole with an American flag waving from it.

Now, in the summers, it'll be impossible to miss.

On Friday, July 3, local residents hoisted a new 15-foot-by-25-foot flag up the pole, a flag that'll fly during the summer months, leaving the smaller 12-foot-by-18-foot flag to fly during windier months. The pole stands above a veterans memorial with the names of local veterans who were killed while serving their country.

DANIEL JOHNSON | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

"We're pretty excited to put the flag up just before Fourth of July to support the veterans," said Stephanie Johnson, president of the Old Fairhaven Association.

On Friday, Bobby Atwood, who served in the U.S. Army from 1972-76, helped raise the new flag. The Bellingham resident is one of several local veterans who've worked to erect a previous pole - and later the current one when the first one fell - the veterans memorial and a time capsule.

"We put it up to recognize all people that ever served, and for those of our countrymen that gave the ultimate," he said, wearing a gray T-shirt that reads "America: Since 1776."

Bellingham resident Arne Larsen isn't a veteran himself but his father fought in World War II, his brother fought in Vietnam and he is a longtime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. With a small American flag in his back pocket, he helped hold the giant flag while Atwood turned the crank to lift it. As it rose, the sun shone through the red, white and blue.

"I figured this is a good way to help pay back, to be involved in things like this," he said. For more than two decades, he's helped with the flagpole and memorial project in Fairhaven.

The flag, which cost about $500, was donated by Ram Construction, after Ram owner Mike Hammes overheard Johnson at The Fairhaven Festival talking about the need for a new flag.

FACTS ABOUT INDEPENDENCE DAY

- The Continental Congress had actually declared the colonies would sever ties with Great Britain on July 2, 1776. The Congress had voted in favor of a motion by Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee to declare independence from Great Britain. Future president and delegate from Massachusetts John Adams stated that "the second day of July will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America."

- The Continental Congress didn't adopt the Declaration of Independence until July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, and its signing wasn't finished until that August. Thomas Jefferson, a delegate from Virginia, wrote the first draft of the document. He was a poor public speaker, but his writing was eloquent and inspirational. Still, a five-man committee tasked with creating the document and the Congress made a total of 86 edits to Jefferson's first draft.

- The Fourth of July holiday was first observed on July 8, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was read aloud. Bands played, city bells rang and residents fired guns in celebration. It wasn't declared a legal holiday until 1941, however.

- On July 4, 1826, a half century after the Declaration of Independence was approved, Thomas Jefferson died. Adams, who had deferred to Jefferson to write the document but helped edit it, died the same day.

- In July 1776, the country had about 2.5 million residents. Now it has nearly 307 million people.

SOURCE: HISTORY.COM; CENSUS.GOV; WHITEHOUSE.GOV.