By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Stars and stripes filled the Canyon of Heroes Monday afternoon in honor of Flag Day.
To mark the 223rd anniversary of the adoption of the American flag as a national symbol, a parade of soldiers, bagpipers, school children and historical societies marched from City Hall to the historic Fraunces Tavern on Pearl Street.
The Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York have organized the parade every year since President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 Flag Day in 1916.
“It’s important for people to remember why this became a symbol of our country, and the [difficult] times our ancestors lived in,” said Steven Trusnovee, color guard treasurer for the Sons of the Revolution and a descendent of a Connecticut militiaman.
While dozens of tourists and local workers stopped what they were doing Monday afternoon to snap photos and watch the parade march down Broadway, many others rushed past without paying attention.
Cyclists making deliveries wove through the celebration, nearly clipping the bagpipers from the city Sanitation Department.
Trusnovee, 55, said he is disappointed that the flag gets more respect in New York only “when bad things happen.”
“Unfortunately, I do see it just pushed to the side as another day,” he said of Flag Day.
“The response has dwindled,” agreed Howard Haider, 69, commandant of the Old Guard of the City of New York, who is retired from the US Army. “There is a severe lack of respect for the flag. Foreigners respect the flag more [than New Yorkers].”
Still, the patriotic ceremony on Monday following the parade offered some hope for Old Glory in the next generation, as the young winners of an essay contest described what the American flag meant to them.
Adelina Bracero, 9, a fourth grader at Immaculate Conception School in Astoria, Queens, said in her winning essay that she is grateful to live in America because girls and boys are treated the same.
“Our flag represents equality,” she told the crowd. “It represents how different people can live here and share freedom…. It makes me proud to be American.”
