
By Mike Hazlip—
It may sound strange to some, but the preferred way to retire Old Glory when it gets too old and worn is by burning, according to the United States Flag Code.
On Monday, Flag Day, veterans from American Legion Post 637 held a flag retirement ceremony at Rusch Park where volunteers disposed of more than 100 flags from community members. Flags were burned in a container, with the ashes set to be later buried at Sylvan Cemetery.
About a dozen people turned out for the event, bringing flags to add to the number Post 637 had already collected.
Spokesman Jim Monteton said organizers came up with the idea to hold the flag retirement ceremony after receiving questions from people in the community asking how to dispose of a worn out flag. Monteton said he was expecting about 20 or 30 flags, but estimated about 150 to 200 flags were dropped off.
“It may not seem like much to just burn them in a can, but it’s just something to it that you don’t want to take and throw them in the garbage,” Monteton said. “They’re too important. There’s too many countries out there that would give their eye-teeth to have what we have in this country.”
United States Flag Code Title 4 Section 8(k) says: “The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”
Monteton told reporters he was pleased to see the participation of community members in bringing flags to be properly retired.
“I’m glad that people are saving them to be burnt or to be properly taken care of and not just thrown away,” he said. “That would be a shame.”
Sakeenah Salaam attended the event and said her husband and father were both veterans. She brought two flags to be retired at the ceremony.
“I’ve been holding on to it trying to figure out what I’m going to do with it,” she said, noting she had seen a post about the event on Nextdoor, a neighborhood-focused social media platform. “I’m all about the patriotic flags and flags all over my house.”