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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Flag etiquette: How to properly display and dispose of your American flag
MARION — Ron Tyne cares so much about the American flag that he has offered to replace the tattered flag hanging on the side of a business he happened across.
Tyne is the adjutant at the Marion American Legion, a post with about 1,200 members. And to all those members, Flag Day is a holiday worth celebrating, he said.
'To a lot of people, it's a symbol of country,' he said.
And that symbol of country — especially for the legion's veterans — is a symbol of patriotism rooted in military sacrifice and survival the flag represents.
'Everybody rallied around the flag,' Tyne said. 'It has to do with survival on the battlefield. Troop movements geared on that flag. Many died (in battle) just keeping those colors up.'
The American flag was authorized by Congress on June 14, 1777, now known as Flag Day.
At the Marion legion, flag education begins early for local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops that can participate in annual flag essays and help put American flags on veterans' graves at local cemeteries for Memorial Day.
'It gives them a real connection,' Tyne said.
And as the legion prepares for Flag Day, Tyne gave a list of the American Legion's tips on how to properly display and dispose of the American flag.
Display:
l The union or field of stars should be displayed at the uppermost corner and to the viewer's left
l Unless it is an all-weather flag, flags should not be displayed where they can be reached by inclement weather.
l Don't let it touch the ground or water.
l When hung with another flag from a wall, and the staffs — or flagpoles — cross, the American flag should be on the right.
l When flown with flags from other states, cities or local organizations, the American flag should always be at the top of the flagpole.
l When flown with three or more flags, the American flag should be on a center flagpole and flown higher than the other flags.
When a flag is too worn out to be flown, it should be disposed.
Each year, local Linn County American Legions hold a flag burning to properly dispose of flags. Tyne said they burn about 2,000 to 3,000 flags each year.
This year, the burning takes place Saturday at the Springville American Legion, 252 Broadway St., Tyne said. The process is as follows:
l A local scout selects a flag.
l It is presented to a pastor or chaplain and three principal officers of local legions to be inspected.
l Each stripe of the flag is cut away.
l The remains are burned in a controlled fire.
Those who wish to dispose of their flag can drop it off at the American Legion in Springville; the Marion American Legion, 625 31st St.; or other local American Legion posts.
l Comments: (319) 368-8516; makayla.tendall@thegazette.com
In order to properly destroy an unusable American flag, one must respectfully burn it. The American Legion in Springville hosted a flag burning ceremony in Springville on June 11, 2016 in order to properly retire the 2,000 flags collected by the organization over the last year.
Pat Hoydt Sr. (left) and Pamela Nissen place the first flag on the fire during the flag retirement ceremony in Springville on Saturday, June 11, 2016. Although the event was hosted by the American Legion, the Springville Fire Department oversaw the burning of the 2,000 or so flags.
Pat Hoydt Sr. with the Springville Fire Depatment (left) helps Don Freeberg (middle) and Dick Dvorak, members of the Cedar Rapids Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree place a flag on a table behind the Springville Fire Station on Saturday, June 11, 2016. About 2,000 flags were brought to the fire station as a part of a flag retirement ceremony, since the flags had become to worn or faded to fly.
On June 11, 2016, Joe Nachazel cuts the strips off of an American flag during the flag retirement ceremony held in Springville as his daughter, Morgan Nachazel (left) and his wife Michelle Nachazel, hold the end. As a part of the ceremony, stripes and the field of blue are cut apart and placed on the flames first.
About 2,000 flags were collected by the American Legion Posts in Marion and Springville for the annual flag retirement ceremony held in Springville on June 11, 2016.
Jason Deppe, a fireman with the Springville Fire Department, places a flag in the fire on June 11, 2016, as a part of the flag retirement ceremony that took place earlier that day. Every June, the American Legion hold a ceremony for the unusable flags they collect from residents and businesses every year.
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