Happy Independence Day, America! “May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country!” ~ quote by Daniel Webster. Photo #1 by Jeff Krause

Fireworks in front of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. Mark Twain said, “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.” Photo #2 by Will Marlow

St Louis Gateway Arch and fireworks, St Louis, Missouri. “You may be a redneck if…your lifetime goal is to own a fireworks stand,” ~ quote by Jeff Foxworthy. Photo #3 by Philip Leara

July 4th in New York City. Erma Bombeck said, “You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” Photo #4 by Barry Yanowitz

Big bang in San Mateo County, California. “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man,” ~ quote by John F. Kennedy. Photo #5 by Dave

Marine Sgt. Geovanni Cruz, 28, from New Britain, Conn., celebrates Independence Day July 4. Elmer Davis said, “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” U.S. Marine Corps Photo #6 by Staff Sgt. Clinton Firstbrook

In Boston, confetti rains down at the completion of the song Stars and Stripes Forever on Independence Day. Hamilton Fish said, “If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace.” U.S. Navy Photo #7 by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Patrick Gearhiser

Taken from Brooklyn, with the Manhattan Bridge in the foreground. Fourth of July. “The United States is the only country with a known birthday,” ~ quote by James G. Blaine. Photo #8 by Barry Yanowitz

The photographer wrote, “Seriously, what goes better together than baseball and fireworks?” Photo #9 by Jason Rodman

No matter how we spend our July 4th day — picnics, parades, music — Americans all enjoy fireworks to celebrate America’s Birthday. “There are those, I know, who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American dream,” quote by Archibald MacLeish. Photo #10 by Peter Patau

Empire State Building with fireworks. “Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom” ~ quote by Albert Einstein. Photo #11 by Bob Jagendorf

Navy Pier Fireworks From Adler Planetarium, Chicago. Thomas Paine said, “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” Paine also said, “The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” Photo #12 by Chris Smith

Fourth of July fireworks at the Seattle Space Needle. “I always have the most fun on the Fourth of July. You don’t have to exchange any gifts. You just go to the beach and watch fireworks. It’s always fun,” ~ quote by James Lafferty. Photo #13 by Michael B. @ NW Lens

Detroit Fireworks. Samuel Adams said ~ “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.” Photo #14 by memories_by_mike

4th of July Fireworks and White House, Washington DC. James Madison said, “I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” Photo #15 by Matthew Straubmuller

Independence Day fireworks illuminate the night sky over the Pearl Harbor Memorial, Hawaii. “Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it,” ~ quote by John Quincy Adams. U.S. Navy Photo #16 by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jason Swink

Fireworks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial ended a day full of patriotic entertainment and celebrations. Paul Sweeney said, “How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy.” Photo #17 by National Park Service

Fireworks display over Statue of Liberty. “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people,” ~ quote by Abraham Lincoln. Photo #18 by Dave Bledsoe

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Scott Webb salutes as the American flag is presented on stage during the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular at the Charles River Esplanade. Did you know: During the War of 1812 this Star Spangled Banner, as America’s flag was referred to, was the inspiration for Francis Scott Key, who composed what later became our National Anthem. Photo #19 by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Gary Ward

Happy birthday, America! War Memorial in Washington DC…Freedom is not free. “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me, ~ Lee Greenwood. Photo #20 by Vinoth Chandar

Celebrating Freedom. “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety,” ~ Benjamin Franklin. Photo #21 by Tim Hamilton