'For Which It Stands' exhibit at Seattle's MOHAI

Veterans Day, the Seattle Museum of History and Industry offering an in-depth look at the history behind the U.S. flag. And we sent John Hopperstad to MOHAI to check out their For Which It Stands, the many threads of the American flag exhibit. John, you've got it right behind you, Old Glory. Yeah. Yeah. And it makes a lot of sense right now, Bill. You know, we think about patriotism, service to our country. We just had the midterm elections. Veterans Day is next week as well. We're joined by Leonard Garfield here, who's behind this exhibit at MOHAI. And give me more of an idea of why you're doing this now. Well, you know, it's a civic moment, as you mentioned, Veterans Day coming up. But really, this is a very special year. It's the 250th anniversary of the United States. And we wanted to look at one of the most powerful symbols of what unites us, the American flag, and really understand how that represents the ideals that we believe in. Sometimes the issue is that we disagree on. So we're using the flag as a symbol to look at what it means to be an American in Seattle through history. Absolutely. And there's no more powerful flag, I think, in your exhibit than this one. Tell us about what we're seeing. It's incredibly powerful. The Oso landslide of 2014, the community was devastated. People lost their lives. One of the artifacts that survived that terrible tragedy was an American flag. It was salvaged by the fire chief. And he recognized, and the community recognized, that this flag meant that they were going to be strong. They were going to survive even the most devastating circumstances. And the flag stands for... Our resilience, as well as our optimism, it's really a symbol that brings us together in times of tragedy. Yeah, you can see the mud still on the flag, and I like it. I was reading this, that the fire chief said, you know, he was going to clean it off, and they said, no, I want to keep it as it is. This is what happened. This represents what happened to us. This is really history. That fire chief lost family members. He lost his property. He lost his community. But the flag stood there as a symbol of what they were and what they were going to continue to be. They were going to be oh so strong. Well, let's talk about, we've got Veterans Day coming up and a lot of Americans have given their life for this country and for the representation in this flag. And tell us about that aspect of the display here. Well, the flag is the symbol that carries us into battle. It's the symbol that stands for our values and our ideals. People sacrifice for that symbol. People give their lives. And we have blue star and gold star families, families whose relatives have made the ultimate sacrifice to the nation. And many of our visitors have remembered their loved ones who have given the ultimate sacrifice to America. Often with the flag, under the flag, and fighting for the ideals of the flag. And so you'll see visitors from across our region who have remembered their loved ones. Yeah, I love what people have done. They've filled out these gold stars you've given them, and with the names of representatives of their family members who gave their life for this country. And literally there are hundreds of these that have been filled out in the several months that this exhibit has been open. It really reminds us that... Regardless of what our politics are, regardless of where we're from or what we do in our daily lives, we do come together as a nation, and the flag is the symbol of that. These gold stars are the symbol of the ultimate sacrifice for the ideals of the flag. And this exhibit runs through? Runs through November 15th. November 15th. So we'll be here on Veterans Day. We welcome all of our service members and their families to come, veterans to come, because in so many ways the American flag stands for them, as well as it stands for all of us. Absolutely. Thanks, Leonard, so much. There is so much more to see here in this exhibit, as well as the local level here when we talk about the American flag. and how it's been celebrated here in Washington state as well. We're going to bring you more on that coming up on our next hour. Guys, I'll send it back to you. The Seattle Museum of History and Industry is offering an in-depth look at the history behind the U.S. flag. And John Hopperstad is at MOHAI right now checking out for which it stands the many threads of the American flag exhibit. John, good morning. Good morning, Bill. Yeah, a really cool exhibit here at MOHAI, and it comes at a time, you know, when we're thinking about what it means to be an American and a patriot. We just had the midterm elections. Of course, Veterans Day is next week, and this all is represented in our flag, and we're joined by Leonard Garfield once again here from MOHAI, and it's such a cool exhibit. He had so many displays of flags, but one of the coolest ones is right here, right? This small one. You know, it's one of my favorites. It's one of the smallest, but one of the most powerful. This is the flag that the great mountaineer Jim Whitaker took to the summit of Mount Everest in 1963. You know, Jim was a founder of REI. We know him as a local hero, but he was a global hero when he summited the mountain, first American to do so. And, you know, we were losing the space race in those years, but, boy, we conquered Earth, and we took that American flag, we put it on the highest point, And Jim brought such glory. Not just to Seattle, not just to climbers in America, but really to the free world. This is quite an important symbol. And we've got a lot of these kind of local angles to the flag here. This is one of my favorites in your exhibit as well from the Olympics back in 1936. Tell us about this. Yeah, 1936 were those Olympics held in Berlin, and Adolf Hitler wanted the German athletes to prove that they were a super race. But you know, the American rowers, those boys in the boat, mostly UW, all UW students, carried this flag, this American flag, into the... arena in Berlin in front of Adolf Hitler, and they carried that flag as a symbol of democracy at a moment when tyranny was really beginning to rise in Europe and around the world. And you mentioned this was made in Germany, right? And that's why we get this. Right. These wonderful Seattle rowers, these great boys, they brought their boats, they brought their equipment, but they did not bring a flag. And so. The America USA flag, spelled in the German way of spelling America, was made for them to carry into that arena in front of Adolf Hitler, and it's come back to here in Seattle as a reminder that the ideals of democracy that the flag represents triumphed. Over tyranny. Yeah, another defeat that Hitler had to suffer during these Olympics was the boys from UW. The boys in the boat, the great rowers from UW who set, they beat all the champions around the world. No one thought they could do it. They proved the world wrong. It was a great Olympics. Jesse Owens was in that Olympics as well. All the Americans proving that democracy really. It was really a system that allowed everybody to participate, to be their best, and the flag stands for that. Well, let's take a little walk here because the last thing we're going to show you is really the first thing you see when you walk into this exhibit, and it has to do with Betsy Ross. Betsy Ross. Now, we know Betsy Ross because she made the first American flag in the design that we currently have back in Philadelphia in the 1770s. But you may not have known that Betsy's family became flag makers for many generations. And Betsy Ross's granddaughter made this small American flag based on her grandmother's original design. And it came to Seattle way back in 1903 as a little continuation of that great American flag tradition that began back during the American Revolution. Amazing stuff. All right, Leonard, thanks so much. And this exhibit, by the way, runs through November 15th. And, of course, Veterans Day right around the corner is something to think about, something to come see here at MOHAI. Guys, we'll send it back to you. All right, some cool stuff there, John. Thank you so much. Welcome back. It is 1031 right now on Good Day Seattle. And this Veterans Day, the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle is offering an in-depth look at the history behind the U.S. flag. So we sent John Hopperstad. To Mojai, checking out there for which it stands, the many threads of the American flag exhibit. Take a look. Good morning, Bill. Yeah, a really cool exhibit here at Mojai. And it comes at a time, you know, when we're thinking about what it means to be an American and a patriot. We just had the midterm elections. Of course, Veterans Day is next week. And this all is represented in our flag. And we're joined by Leonard Garfield once again. From Mo Hai, and it's such a cool exhibit. You've got so many displays of flags, but one of the coolest ones is right here, right? This small one. You know, it's one of my favorites. It's one of the smallest, but one of the most powerful. This is the flag that the great mountaineer Jim Whitaker took to the summit of Mount Everest in 1963. You know, Jim was a founder of REI. We know him as a local hero, but he was a global hero when he summited the mountain. First American to do so. And you know, we were losing the space race in the... But boy, we conquered Earth and we took that American flag, we put it on the highest point and Jim brought such glory, not just to Seattle, not just to climbers in America, but really to the free world. This is quite an important symbol. And we've got a lot of these kind of local angles to the flag here. This is one of my favorites in your exhibit as well. From the Olympics back in 1936, tell us about this. Yeah, 1936 were those Olympics held in Berlin, and Adolf Hitler wanted the German athletes to prove that they were a super race. But you know, the American rowers, those boys in the boat, mostly UW, all UW students, carried this flag, this American flag, into the arena in Berlin. In front of Adolf Hitler, and they carried that flag as a symbol of democracy at a moment when tyranny was really beginning to rise in Europe and around the world. And you mentioned this was made in Germany, right? Right. And that's why we get this. Right. These wonderful Seattle rowers, these great boys, they brought their boats, they brought their equipment, but they did not bring a flag. And so. The America USA flag, spelled in the German way of spelling America, was made for them to carry into that arena in front of Adolf Hitler, and it's come back to here in Seattle as a reminder that the ideals of democracy that the flag represents triumphed. Over tyranny. Yeah, another defeat that Hitler had to suffer during these Olympics was the boys from UW. The boys in the boat, the great rowers from UW who set, they beat all the champions around the world. No one thought they could do it. They proved the world wrong. It was a great Olympics. Jesse Owens was in that Olympics as well. All the Americans proving that democracy really. It was really a system that allowed everybody to participate, to be their best, and the flag stands for that. Well, let's take a little walk here because the last thing we're going to show you is really the first thing you see when you walk into this exhibit, and it has to do with Betsy Ross. Betsy Ross. Now, we know Betsy Ross because she made the first American flag in the design that we currently have back in Philadelphia in the 1770s. But you may not have known that Betsy's family became flag makers for many generations. And Betsy Ross's granddaughter made this small American flag based on her grandmother's original design. And it came to Seattle way back in 1903 as a little continuation of that great American flag tradition that began back during the American Revolution. Amazing stuff. All right, Leonard, thanks so much. And this exhibit, by the way, runs through November 15th. And, of course, Veterans Day right around the corner is something to think about, something to come see here at MOHAI. Guys, we'll send it back to you.