Author: James Breig

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Bio
James Breig is a veteran author who specializes in history. His most recent book is “Star-Spangled Baseball: True Tales of Flags and Fields” about the links between the sport and flags. He is also the author of a nonfiction book about WWII, "Searching for Sgt. Bailey: Saluting an Ordinary Soldier of World War II" and co-author of "The Mystery of the Multiple Mothers," a novel. All three are available at www.amazon.com. His articles have appeared in newspapers and national magazines, including the Colonial Williamsburg Journal (search for them at www.history.org/journal) and History Magazine. He has won many national awards for his opinion writing, media columns and feature articles.
History Lessons

Why Lincoln missed flag-raising

Raising the American flag is a common activity for presidents, including Abraham Lincoln. But he had to skip one such occasion, even though he had promised to be there. It happened less than a year after his inauguration in March 1861. Six months later, after the first battles of the War Between the States had… continue

History Lessons

Long-lost film features flag | 1924 World Series

This year’s World Series will sport many flags – American flags and red-white-and-blue bunting, of course, but also the pennants and banners of baseball teams. Just in time for the fall classic, a lost film has surfaced from 90 years ago, and it shows a prominent Old Glory. The silent movie is the only known… continue

History Lessons

Pepperdine flags memorialize 9/11

An Israeli flag flaps among U.S. banners. (Photos by James Breig)

Last month, the anniversary of 9/11 was marked throughout the U.S. with prayers, speeches, memorials – and nearly 3,000 American flags planted on a sloping campus lawn in California. Pepperdine University in Malibu first installed the emotional display in 2007 after a student suggested the idea of honoring an alumnus who had died on Flight… continue

History Lessons

American flags flap for fallen firefighters

Two weeks ago, a brand-new flag ceremony occurred in Washington, D.C. To salute firefighters who have given their lives to save others, American flags waved from the dome of the U.S. Capitol. The banners marked the loss of nearly 100 heroes in 2013. Another nine were raised to honor, symbolically, those who had died in… continue