Robert G. Heft designed America’s official 50-star flag. He did so as a response to a class assignment as a Lancaster High School student. Stanley Pratt, Robert’s history teacher, asked his students to make a project indicating their interest in American history. Since Robert was excited that Hawaii and Alaska were going to become part of the United States, he decided that his project would be to create a new US flag representing the two incoming states.

Robert spent over twelve hours that weekend designing and creating a new flag by cutting up the flag his parents had received as a wedding present. He arranged the fifty white stars, in alternating horizontal rows of five and six stars, on a blue cloth background. He kept the seven alternating horizontal red and six white stripes representing the original thirteen colonies. He also kept the flag’s three colors, red, white, and blue, representing, respectively, courage, purity, and justice.

Much to Robert’s disappointment, he received a B-minus on his project. His teacher explained that if Robert could get the US Congress to accept the flag, his grade would be changed to an “A”.

Robert was confident that his flag design was worthy of acceptance. Following his teacher’s advice, Robert submitted the design to his congressman, Walter Moeller, who passed it on to the chairman of the Congressional Flag Design Committee. They liked it. Robert was so determined to get his flag accepted that he wrote 21 letters and called The White House 18 times.

Within two years, Robert received a phone call from President Dwight D. Eisenhower announcing that his design was accepted as the official flag of the United States. The president invited Robert to the White House where he saw the flag fly for the first time on July 4, 1960.  

Stanley Pratt honored his promise and changed Robert’s grade to an “A” explaining, “If it’s good enough for Congress, it’s good enough for me.”  

Years later, Robert became a professor and motivational speaker. He often explained, “It can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you come from a small town…I had an idea of making a 50-star flag, and I did it…An idea doesn’t do any good if you don’t pursue it.”

A large historical marker, commemorating Robert’s creation, stands outside an entrance to the high school. It is entitled “The Fifty Star Flag: A Symbol of America.”

Learn more via a YouTube video: How the American Flag Got Its 50th Star