President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act
making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national
anthem of the United States on t his day in 1931.

On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key composed the
lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing
the massive overnight British bombardment of Fort
McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. Key, an
American lawyer, watched the siege while under
detainment on a British ship and penned the famous
words after observing with awe that Fort McHenry’s
flag survived the 1,800-bomb assault.

Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843)

The modern United States received its crowning star when
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation
admitting (Native spelling: Hawai‘i) into the Union as the
50th state on this day in 1959.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has ordered
all flags at Oregon public institutions to be flown at half-staff
until sunset on August 10 to honor firefighter Benjamin Charles
Sapper (21), who died in the line of duty on August 4.

Benjamin was a firefighter with the Rogue River-Siskiyou
National Forest Service.

Katharine Lee Bates (1859 – 1929) a poet and professor at
Wellesley College, is best known as the author of "America
the Beautiful," which she wrote after a trip to the summer
of Pike’s Peak in 1893.

During World War II, the U.S. 10th Army overcomes the last
major pockets of Japanese resistance on Okinawa Island,
ending one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

The same day, Japanese Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima,
the commander of Okinawa’s defense, committed suicide with
a number of Japanese officers and troops rather than surrender.