Let Freedom Ring® Celebration
On Independence Day, every year, as mandated by Congress, Philadelphia is the epicenter and heartbeat of our national celebration.
This year, the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of The Revolution welcomed the privilege of leading our national observance of Let Freedom Ring®, the national ceremony established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1963 that calls for “bells to be rung all across the land at 2 p.m. EDT on July 4 in honor of the 13 original states represented by signers of the Declaration of Independence.” Since 1969, the PSSR has had the honor and responsibility of leading the national celebration.
The festivities began with a superb brunch reception at the Philadelphia Marriott Old City, where Society President C. Michael Whelan and select officers from our Board of Managers gave traditional toasts with gathered members, honored guests and multitude of family and friends joining us for this grand celebration.
The brunch gave way to our annual Parade of Colors from the Marriott in Old City up Walnut Street and past Independence Hall to Washington Square Park and culminating at The Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. It was quite the spectacle as the PSSR Color Guard, led by a resplendent detail of Troopers from The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry and The Watson Highlanders Bagpipe and Drum Corps, marched through the streets of Philadelphia up to Washington Square Park. Following the Color Guard Parade were all the PSSR members, guests, and the general public lucky enough to join our time-honored celebration. And lest we not forget to mention the young sons and daughters of Sons of the Revolution, our children in the parade who were enthusiastically handing out American flags to all the residents lining the parade route.
Upon arrival at Washington Square, under the canopy of sycamore trees, our Society Chaplain Pro Tem Francis M. Spano, III gave a patriotic Invocation, followed by Deputy Superintendent Amnesty Kochanowski of Independence National Historical Park, our host for the event, welcomed all and spoke of how Washington Square Park was “alive with stories of our ancestors” and how “this was where our nation began”. She concluded her welcoming remarks with a challenge she said to “honor the soldier behind me, who in his anonymity, rests in peace, and represents all who died pursuing that unyielding human need for freedom and liberty.”
President Whelan then welcomed to the podium our Let Freedom Ring Chairman Dr. Edwin S. Hart, III, our PSSR Historian, to officiate the second half of the ceremony, as President Whelan and a small detail of Troopers and Color Guardsmen departed for the Bell-Tapping Ceremony at the Liberty Bell Pavilion.
Chairman Hart then spoke of how “Washington Square is hallowed ground, the soldier buried here is a sentinel, a constant reminder of those who perished in the name of freedom for our infant nation, many of whom rest under your feet, under your chairs here today”. Chairman Hart then invited Robert J. McNelly, Esq., Captain of the Color Guard, and Society Vice President Joseph T. Coleman, Ed.D., to each place a memorial wreath at The Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier, while The Orpheus Club of Philadelphia provided the poignant vocal accompaniment of The Navy Hymn.
Chairman Hart then returned to the podium to officially introduce The Orpheus Club and invite them to entertain us with a few more patriotic songs, leading up to the much-anticipated bell ringing at 2 pm. To The Orpheus Club’s perfect soundtrack, the Society Color Guard then rose and collected the Society’s Standards and Colors and right at 2 p.m., he then led the crowd in loudly proclaiming “Let Freedom Ring” as the bell at Independence Hall rang out 13 times in unison with bells around the city, around the country, and the world.
Just as the Independence Hall bell rang 13 times, across Chestnut Street in the Liberty Bell Pavilion, ten young members of The Descendents of Signers of the Declaration of Independence, donning their white gloves, gently tapped the actual Liberty Bell 13 times in unison, and thus brought to a spectacular close Let Freedom Ring for 2025.
Please CLICK HERE and enjoy the full photo gallery from this event. We have also posted a video of the event (for the first time ever) on our new private YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PASocietyofSonsoftheRevolution
