I went to elementary school in the 60s/early 70s in Westchester County, NY. I was taught hand over the heart for the pledge, stand attentively and respectfully for the national anthem.
(I do have a half-formed memory of some teacher in one of the later grades telling us it that men should put their hands over their hearts for the anthem. But I am not 100% certain of this.)
I was taught right hand over the heart for the Pledge of Allegiance and to stand respectfully (hat or cap in hand) for The National Anthem. This was Georgia in the 1960s. The only time I ever heard The National Anthem played was at football games or Atlanta Braves games. At Braves games, we yelled out BRAVES at the end of the Anthem.
Yeah, we were real bright. 
I went to school in Ohio in the 80’s and 90’s. I was taught to stand for the Pledge and hold my hand over my heart. They stopped making us do it somewhere in the middle of Middle School.
I don’t recall ever learning anything about the national anthem, other than I don’t have to take my hat off since I’m a girl. But I take it off anyway at ball games because I’m not really wearing a bonnet or anything…
In NC in the 60’s, I was taught hand over the heart for the Pledge and to stand for the anthem. By scary nuns.
North Texas - 93-07
Hand over the heart for Pledge, no hat. Same for National Anthem.
The freaking Texas pledge was stand respectfully. Introduced to us in high school due to our lovely legislature - I often studied during this and the moment of silence. I like the state and everything, but don’t swear my allegiance to it.
And of course yell out STARS at hockey games.
I don’t remember any hand over the heart bullshit for the Anthem. That was only for the Pledge. I’ve always just assumed that people who did it for the Anthem were getting mixed up. All I can remember being taught about the anthem is to stand up and take your hat off.
ETA, the more I think about it the more I STILL think that people who put their hands over their hearts for the Anthem are getting mixed up. Putting a hand over the heart is for swearing an oath, not for “showing respect.”
Grade school in the late '60s/early '70s in St. Louis, MO. Hand over the heart for the pledge, no hand over the heart for the National Anthem, and I still don’t do it and never thought anything of it. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I agree with Diogenes that it’s simply wrong to put your hand over your heart for the anthem.
Hand over the heart was for the Pledge only.
I went to elementary school in the 1980s in New Jersey. We did the Pledge and sang the national anthem every day.
I was taught to stand. hats off if you’re male or wearing a “non-girly” hat, no hand. I wasn’t taught not to put my hand over my heart, but it looks a little childish to me, I guess. However, I’d stand and remove my (non-girly) hat for any nation’s national anthem, I suppose. I just wouldn’t know the words.
I was taught to take your hat off, and we learned the words so we could sing along. The hand-over-heart thing? Not for the national anthem. I learned that for the pledge.
Not in the Army. You salute for the anthem when in uniform, and put your hand over your heart in civilian clothes. If you’re wearing a hat - men or women - you hold the hat over your heart.
I don’t think holding your hand over your heart means you’re swearing an oath in this case. Just showing respect, like a salute.
Before I was in the military, I’m pretty sure it was my mom who taught me that. She was a veteran, and I think she may have even told me the hand over heart for the anthem was mostly for military/veterans.
I just realized I don’t even remember the words to the pledge of allegiance. Oops.
Not a problem. Simply substitute the word “God” for every word you can’t remember. No true American will object.
Pennsylvania, late 70s; stand for National Anthem, stand/hand over heart for Pledge of Allegiance. Somewhere along the line I got the idea that hats should be held over the heart for both. I know I didn’t pick that up at school, because we weren’t allowed to wear hats-- probably I got it from baseball games.
But what if you’re in the navy, and so you salute instead of put your hand over your heart; but you’re indoors when they play the national anthem, and navy guys don’t salute indoors? What do you do, chew nervously on your black neckerchief?
(FTR, the only songs I remember saluting were morning colors and evening colors, since they involved, you know…the flag. We saluted taps, too, but that didn’t count as saluting a song itself, since it was understood we were saluting the dead guys)
I was in the band just forever (junior high, high school) so I have no idea what other people are supposed to do if they are not playing the anthem. The great thing about band is, all you have to do is play the anthem.
As an adult, it only comes up when I’m at ball games. I turn and look at the flag, see people with their hands over their hearts, wonder if I’m supposed to do that, too–damn, too late!–oh and I forgot to take my hat off, too. Because if I’m wearing a hat, either it’s frigid weather or the hat is hiding really scary hair.
As to the pledge of allegiance, the hell with it. I’m not saying it, and I’m not doing anything special while not saying it. I’ll just stand there and pretend I’m French. But I can’t think of a situation where the pledge was said in my presence in the last ten or fifteen years. (Good.)
From what I remember, we just stood at attention. I can’t remember the situation coming up much when I was in civilian clothes but it seems to me like you just stood up and took your hat off like everybody else (I can’t actually remember any specific incident of the Anthem being played while I was in civvies, though. If it happened it would have been at a ballgame or some other totally non-military context.
We had to put our hands over our hearts only for the Pledge of Allegiance, that vile thing that shouldn’t even exist.
Why doesn’t the Navy salute indoors? Do the Marines follow the same rule?
Exactly. I was taught that the “ladies may keep their hats on” “rule” was established when ladies’ hats were pinned into place, and often integrated with the hairdo. Taking off a lady’s hat when walking indoors or for an anthem would require an embarrassingly quick run to the restroom to set things right, so she was permitted to keep hers on.
A woman wearing a baseball cap, knit cap or other “man’s” hat should follow men’s hat etiquette, and always should have.
And add me into the “stand quietly or sing along, hands at your sides” school of taught. Illinois public schools, graduated high school in 1992.
I don’t know why in terms of the reasoning behind the way the rules are set up. But in the Navy one doesn’t salute unless both the saluter and salutee are covered - wearing headgear. And it is generally considered a faux pas to wear headgear inside.
(Certainly any chance to take off the damned dixie cup was siezed with alacrity in my Navy days.)
I think a large part of it is simply that it would be awkward/inconvenient to have to stop ship’s business to take and give salutes during the normal workday. But I wouldn’t put too much belief on that answer.