My contribution to Memorial Day Celebration - the squirrel ready to say the Pledge of Allegiance
(no disrespect intended, just a love of animals and a bit of creative editing)
History of the Pledge of Allegiance:
Two men interested in both education and planned Columbus Day celebrations around our Nation's 44 states were
Francis Bellamy and James Upham. To this day it is still unknown which of the two men actually authored the words
that were to become the Pledge of Allegiance.
What we do know for certain is that the words first appeared in the September 8, 1892 issue of "The Youth's Companion",
and a month later more than 12 million school children recited the words for the first time in schools across the nation.
Taken from: http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfc_pledge.html
See this link for more info on the development of the Pledge of Allegiance as we know it today.