Reading his June 23 letter, “Respect ‘rockets’ red glare‘,” I want to thank William T. Stokes for setting the record straight regarding the genesis of our National Anthem.
My grammar school teachers taught some cockamamie story about Francis Scott Key, the bombing of Fort Sumter and the beginning of the American Civil War. I should have known a true patriot such as Key would have been inspired to write “The Star Spangled Banner” while standing in line to buy firecrackers.
Barbara Chester
Vancouver
