Chicago ? When Dan Gaydosh strolled into The Flag Store in Crystal Lake, Ill., on Tuesday, he knew just what he needed to help celebrate the Fourth of July.

With dozens of flags to choose from, it didn’t take him long to pick out a 10-inch by 15-inch American flag that he said will look great hanging from the stoop of his home.

“I just want to show the spirit of the holiday,” said Gaydosh, of Crystal Lake. “I’m not making a political statement in support of the war or anything.”

But sometimes that spirit can be hard to measure. After decades in the flag business, Randolph Smith, president of Chicago-based Advertising Flag Co. Inc., said he has seen interest in the flag ebb and flow, according to the general sentiment people have about the country’s direction.

Immediately following the 9-11 attacks, for example, U.S. flag sales accounted for 25 percent of his business. Today, it’s about 16 to 18 percent and has been declining since 2003, he said.

“When people are feeling better about the country they buy more flags,” Smith said. “It was like this during the Nixon years. It wasn’t our bread and butter then either.”

Kimberly Sklarz, corporate secretary for Bartlett, Ill.-based FlagsUSA, said the run-up to the July Fourth holiday, normally a busy time, has been particularly slow this year. The company’s U.S. flag sales were down 49 percent in June from the same period last year.

“It is a very sad time right now. We are just kind of baffled by how things are going and all because of the war,” Sklarz said. “We expected it to make some kind of effect on the company, but it is getting pretty bad.”

Exact numbers on American flag sales nationwide are hard to come by. Some flag dealers in other parts of the country report sales are steady and, in some cases, have increased since last year.

James Giraudo, co-owner of Sacramento, Calif.-based Pacific Coast Flags, said his sales were up 5 percent over last year, due mainly to increased interest from businesses that want to fly the flag.

Residential sales have held steady, he said.