American flags honorably retired in a ceremony at American Legion Post
Published 10:15 am Monday, June 15, 2020
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StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Commander Kelly Greene Jr. is shown in the photos selecting a smaller flag for retirement, approaching the fire pit and solemnly placing the flag in the embers. He then steps back, comes to attention and renders a salute while recites the Pledge of Allegiance. He will hold the salute until the flag is consumed by the flames then he executes an about-face and steps away.
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CONTRIBUTED BY LARRY N. SOUDERS
On Sunday, June 14th the 243rd commemoration of Flag Day was observed. The Second Continental Congress passed a resolution approving the design of a national flag, on June 14, 1777.
They “Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen UnitedStates shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union is thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation,” the resolution said.
There have been 27 official versions of the US flag, each having a varying arrangement of the stars, until 1912 when President Taft standardized the then-new flag’s forty-eight stars into six rows of eight.
A forty-ninth and fiftieth star have since been added to the American flag to represent all states in the union. The current version of the flag dates to July 4, 1960.
The country began celebrating Flag Day in 1916. That’s when President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14.
According to The United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 8k states-“The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem of display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”
Flag retirement is the term used to define the proper, dignified way of destroying United States flags that are no longer fit to serve the nation.
Small flags should be properly folded and burned whole. Larger flags should be stretched out by the corners of the flag, then cut the flag in half, vertically — do not cut into the blue star field.
Place the two halves together and cut in half, horizontally. One will have four pieces of the flag, one being the blue star field and the other three red and white stripes.
By doing this one keeps the union of blue intact. Doing so symbolizes that the unity of our union should never be broken.
Each year a Flag Retirement ceremony is held at the American Legion Post 49 in Elizabethton.
This year, on Saturday the 13th, Post Commander Kelly Greene Jr and several other members of the post participated in the honorable retirement of over 1000 flags outside of the post.
Commander Greene demonstrated the proper way to retire the flag. Commander Greene is shown in the photos selecting a smaller flag for retirement, approaching the fire pit, and solemnly placing the flag in the embers.
He then steps back, comes to attention, and renders a salute while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. He will hold the salute until the flag is consumed by the flames then he executes an about-face and steps away.
