Americans across the United States will observe Flag Day today and residents of Delmar Gardens of Smyrna are no exception.

America celebrated its first Flag Day on June 14, 1777 when the Continental Congress decided that their new country needed a flag by stating: “Resolved, that the Flag of the 13 United States shall be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be 13 stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

Flag Day as we know it was established by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

Wade Lnenicka, Smyrna city councilman and U.S. Army veteran, explained why Flag Day is observed.

“I think Flag Day is an opportunity for citizens to fly the United States flag and honor it in appropriate ways,” he said. “I think it’s a chance for all of us as Americans to unite behind the ideals that unite us and not focus on the things that might divide us.”

Residents at Delmar Gardens of Smyrna celebrated Flag Day by retiring their old flag and hoisting a new, larger flag.

About 30 residents including veterans from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces attended with flags in hand.

Larry Robert, a chaplain from Vitas Innovative Hospice Care, officiated the ceremony. Coast Guard veteran Robin Human accepted the old flag while Royce Cheek, a veteran of both the Coast Guard and the Navy, presented the new flag.

“Chaplain Larry with Vitas Hospice graciously came and offered our veterans a chance to be honored for the Flag Day ceremony,” said Melanie Leonard, Delmar Gardens of Smyrna activities director. “We retired the old flag at Delmar Gardens of Smyrna and hoisted the new flag in honor of the veterans today.”