How To Properly Retire a United States Flag
By Amy Schumacher
The United States Flag can be seen all across our country at state buildings and adorning porches of the millions of proud Americans that want to show their respect for our country and their respect for the historical significance of the American Flag. Just as we pay respect by flying our flag, it is important that we pay the same respect when our flags have become worn, tattered, faded or soiled. There are a four ways that our flag can be “retired” that are considered proper and respectful.
Located at the Town Hall in Elizabethtown, NC is a box where flags can be deposited and will be retired properly with no charge to the people making the deposit. The Boy Scouts of America offer a few more options for retiring a flag appropriately. A second option is to recycle your worn flag. You can easily do a google search to find a flag recycling group. Some groups offer this service for free and others may charge a small fee.
According to the Boy Scouts of America, burning a flag is considered the most appropriate and respectful way to retire a flag. In the past flags were made from cotton or wool and when burned, the flag emitted no contamination to our environment as these materials were natural materials. Recent environmentalists have frowned upon this because flags are now made of synthetic materials that contaminate our environment. If you still choose to burn your flag please make sure that participants are a safe distance away and will not be inhaling the fumes. Flags should be fully burned to ashes with no visible signs of the flag for this to be considered a respectful process. The Boy Scouts of America can be contacted to assist in setting up a proper ceremony to retire flags properly.
The Boy Scouts of America offer a few more options for retiring a flag appropriately. A second option is to recycle your worn flag. You can easily do a google search to find a flag recycling group. Some groups offer this service for free and others may charge a small fee.
A third option for retiring a flag would be to cut the flag into pieces prior to disposal of the flag. Once a flag has been cut into pieces it then ceases to be considered a flag. To properly cut a flag one should never cut through the blue starred portion of the flag but should cut the flag into four pieces, leaving three red and white striped pieces and one blue starred piece. The four pieces should be placed in a sealed container for disposal. The flag can be discarded at this point.
A fourth option is to contact a local Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) post, the Elk Lodge, or an American Legion post. These groups will work with you to conduct a small service to help you retire your flag. This is a great option to ensuring that everything is handled properly. This option also allows for your family or group to learn how to retire a flag properly and respectfully.
The Boy Scouts of America pride themselves in the ceremonies they plan to retire US flags. Holding a flag ceremony can be a small event where a moment of silence is shared or can be something on a grander scale where the flag is saluted by all in attendance for the last time, the pledge can be spoken for the last time, or the history can be credited to the actual flag that is being retired. The options are abundant in the details of the ceremony that can be held to honor the flag and any show of respect toward the flag is acceptable.
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