Scouts, VFW honor ‘Old Glory’
Scouts, VFW honor ‘Old Glory’
Flag Retirement ceremony upholds time- honored tradition
news@theeveningtimes.com
Scouts from Marion traveled to the VFW Post 5225 in West Memphis to retire flags on Flag Day, June 14.
About 40 people, cub scouts to veterans, parents, and fire fighters participated in the ceremony.
Flag Day falls on the anniversary of the adoption of the flag of the United States and some other noteworthy anniversaries too. This year marked 239 years for our country under the stars and stripes banner. Old Glory at that time was the familiar Betsy Ross flag with 13 white stars encircled on a blue field and 13 stripes alternating between red and white. On the same date in 1775 the Army was born.
While flag day is not an official national holiday, this year marked the centennial of President Woodrow Wilson’s proclamation to establish the date. An Act of Congress followed in 1949 reaffirmed the remembrance.
VFW Comrade Louis Basnell organized the event with Paul Reschke a Boy Scout leader with Troop 72 in Marion. Those groups along with Cub Scout Pack 172, parents and firefighters with Engine 5 of the West Memphis Fire Department were on hand.
The flag retirement ceremony started with a salute to the flag from the vets and the scouts and the Pledge of Allegiance. Army Veteran and Post Commander Elvin Tate pointed out some historical aspects of the date including the Army’s birthday. With the flag representing the past, present and future of our country, Scouts got a reminder from Reschke before the solemn ceremony.
With that, the retirement work began in accordance to the U.S. Flag Code protocol. Scouts and vets carefully sliced the field of stars from the stripes on each flag. After the flags were prepared the scouts laid sections of each flag one at a time in a fire ring for incineration.
“We retire flags every year on Flag Day,” said Tate.
“People bring their worn out flags here. We don’t turn any flags away. We see to it the flags are properly retired.”
By John Rech
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