Michael Bowles: Flag Day and the force that forged a nation

By MICHAEL BOWLES

June 14, 2026 – Every year on June 14, Americans celebrate Flag Day. Many of us fly Old Glory from our front porches, attend community events, or simply take a moment to appreciate the red, white, and blue.

What some may not realize is that June 14 marks another important milestone in our nation’s history: the birthday of the United States Army.

In fact, the Army came before the flag.

On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress authorized the creation of a Continental Army by raising companies of expert riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia and incorporating the existing New England forces surrounding Boston. This was the moment the colonies transformed a regional rebellion into a united cause. As the T-shirt says, “It started with a Tea Party, and escalated quickly.”

At the time, there was no Declaration of Independence. There was no Constitution. No flag.

Yet there was already an American Army.

The following day, Congress selected George Washington of Virginia to command this new fighting force. The choice was deliberate. Washington’s military experience mattered, but so did his home state. Congress understood that if liberty was going to survive, the colonies needed to stand together as one people.

The Continental Army became America’s first truly national institution.

During the difficult years that followed, it often served as the only visible symbol of a nation that did not yet formally exist. Through bitter winters, battlefield defeats, shortages, and tremendous sacrifice, the Army held together long enough for the dream of independence to become reality.

For 251 years, soldiers have continued that tradition.

As an Army veteran myself, June 14 carries special meaning.

I served two combat tours in Iraq and was honored to be awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Like countless veterans, I learned that military service is about something larger than yourself. It is about duty, sacrifice, and a commitment to protect the freedoms that generations before us secured at great cost.

For my family, that commitment runs deep. Between myself, my brother, sister, and brother-in-law we served a combined total of 12 combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq during the Global War on Terrorism. My father is a West Point graduate and served during the post-Vietnam and Dessert Storm eras. Both of my grandfathers fought in the second world war in the Pacific theater while my great grandfather operated in a clandestine manner against the Nazis in Europe.

My family’s military service proudly stretches back through every American generation. We have a direct family line of service in every American war since the American Revolution. My family fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of the Wilderness during the Civil War in the Maine 16^th, fighting for the Union cause. Going back even further, our roots reach those who answered the call during the Revolutionary era as I am a direct descendant of David Bowles, a “Minuteman” with the 4th Plymouth.

Liberty is not simply an idea discussed around our family table. It is something our family has defended for generations. Throughout the years, we have been regular American citizens who have simply done our patriotic duty when called upon to do so.

Military service also brought me to Alaska. In 2008, while stationed at Fort Richardson, I met my wife Amanda, a lifelong Alaskan. We spent much of our engagement separated while I deployed to Iraq for my second tour. Like so many military families, we learned firsthand that service is not carried by soldiers alone. It is shared by spouses, parents, children, and loved ones who endure the sacrifices alongside them.

Today, as I serve on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly, I remain grateful for the lessons the Army taught me about leadership, responsibility, and selfless service to others.

Those lessons did not begin with my generation. They began with the riflemen who answered Congress’s call in June of 1775. They continued through Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Normandy, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and countless other places where Americans stood in defense of liberty.

This June 14, I encourage every American to do two simple things:

First, proudly fly our American flag.

Second, take a moment to remember why it flies.

The freedoms we enjoy today were not inevitable. They were earned and preserved by generations of Americans willing to leave their homes, risk their lives, and place the cause of liberty above their own comfort and safety.

Before there was a flag, there was an Army. Before there was a nation, there were patriots willing to fight for one. That legacy is worth remembering, celebrating, and passing on to the next generation.

Happy birthday to the United States Army, and happy Flag Day to all Americans.

Michael Bowles serves on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly and is a candidate for House District 25.