Tuesday is Flag Day

It’s not an official federal holiday, but Tuesday does mark an important day in our nation’s history.

It is Flag Day, which commemorates the day the flag of the United States was adopted by resolution of the second Continental Congress, in 1777.

“Flag Day is a day for the commissioning of a new flag and the ceremonial disposal of flags that have been certified unusable,” said Lenord Little, commander of American Legion Post 129 in Oak Harbor.

There are observances held in honor of Flag Day, which vary from state to state and city to city. Fairfield, Wash., near Spokane is home to the nation’s oldest continuing Flag Day parade, which celebrated its centennial last year. The city will hold its 101st grand parade Saturday.

Here in Oak Harbor, the Lions Club will place flags along city streets in honor of the day.

(The Lions) put up all the street-lining flags for all the major or legal holidays,” said Little. “They’ve been doing a wonderful job over the years.”

Saturday, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Whitehead-Muzzall Post 7392 in Oak Harbor will hold a U.S. Flag Retirement Ceremony, a proper and formal way to dispose of the stars and stripes, and one that is conducted periodically by different organizations.

“Since the actual Flag Day is on a weekday this year, we decided to do it on the 11th,” said VFW Post Commander Pete Sill. “This is the second time we will have done the ceremony.”

Sill estimates the VFW has close to 50 3-by-5-foot flags and four 20-by-60-foot flags that will be retired at Saturday’s ceremony.

“We treat a flag’s retirement very much like we treat a veteran who is retiring,” said Little, who said the American Legion collects about 200 worn flags every year. “If it’s an appropriate flag, and by that I mean one that’s not plastic, it’s supposed to be flown honorably, taken down, folded up appropriately, and taken to the Boy Scouts or nearest veterans organization for disposal.”

An old mail box has been painted and repurposed by Oak Harbor’s American Legion, and is now used as a drop box for unusable flags. Old flags may be dropped off from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, just inside the main entrance of the American Legion, located at the corner of Barrington and Dock streets. Kathy Reed/Whidbey Crosswind

“We accept worn and unusable flags all the time,” agreed Sill. “If we cannot retire them properly, then we arrange to send them to another Post for retirement.”

Because of air quality concerns, plastic, polyester or nylon flags shouldn’t be burned, said Little. While he’s not aware of any special rules for disposing of plastic flags, he said all flags should be treated with respect. Little said local mortuaries will sometimes place polyester or nylon flags in need of disposal alongside the coffins of veterans who are being cremated, giving the flags an honorable destruction by fire.

Time to retire
Knowing when a flag has flown long enough can sometimes be a matter of personal opinion. What may be acceptable to some may not be to others. In a military community such as Oak Harbor, Little said the flag’s appearance is important and he has been known to approach business owners.

“I’ve seen flags that need to be retired,” he said. “I’ll usually step in and ask to see the manager and ask them to replace it.”

Little said there are others in the community who have strong feelings about the appearance of our nation’s symbol.

“We have a lot of older veterans, from the Korean War or World War II, and those vets get a little passionate about it,” he acknowledged.

Signs a flag is in need of replacement are tattered, frayed ends, seams that are starting to separate or tears in the fabric. Whidbey Island weather can also be hard on them.

“In winter, I replace my flag about every two months,” Little said. “The wind is really hard on them.”

Proper etiquette
Flag Day is also a good reminder there are rules to follow when it comes to displaying Old Glory. Many flag-flying faux pas are simply because people don’t know the guidelines, especially if they’ve never served in the military.

“Most veterans know better, and usually take care of flags and fly them appropriately,” Little said.

Common mistakes Little said he sees is flying tattered flags, not flying them at half staff when necessary, flying private flags in inclement weather or flying the flag 24 hours a day without proper illumination.

A brief list of display rules can be found on page 4 of Whidbey Crosswind, but more complete information on the history of our nation’s flag, proper etiquette and display guidelines can be found online at www.usa-flag-site.org.