Staff Writer
rseaborn@pickenssentinel.com
PICKENS - Its colors, once brilliant, are faded and weathered.
The one-time strong fabric is tattered and worn.
For a time, it lifted proudly in even the slightest breeze, the history of a nation and the hope of a country. Now the frayed edges show that the time has all but passed for it to be lowered from its lofty heights and put away with the dignity and respect it not only deserves, but also had earned on the battlefields of freedom.
American Legion Post 11, along with Knights of Columbus Assembly 3065 from Holy Cross Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America, Troop 51, gathered Saturday, on Flag Day, to ensure that the worn flags they have harbored over the past several months receive the honorable ending that is required.
"The United States flag, the symbol of our country and of our freedom, should be retired properly," American Legion Post 11 Commander Doug Finney said. "Our laws say the flag should be destroyed with respect, preferably by burning, so that it no longer can be recognized as a former flag."
Finney said Post 11 collects worn the flags from local citizens and periodically will hold retirement ceremonies, especially on Flag Day. During the event, each flag is honored as the American flag, disassembled, and burned.
"I don't know just how many flags to be retired we have here today," he said. "But we have a room that we keep all the old flags in until we can properly retire them."
Local boy scouts were recruited to help with the retirement ceremony because of that organization's guidelines in respectfully destroying the flags, Finney said.
"Our flag has gone into every battle into which there have bee United States citizens," Scout Master Perry Gravely, of Boy Scout Troop 51, said. "It has flown over some battles that were never declared, such as Beirut, where the Marine Barracks was blown up by terrorists, at the Alfred Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, and by the rescuers at the World Trade Center."
Gravely compared the American flag to an old friend who served this nation well.
"We have an old friend here who has fulfilled his duty to our country," he said. "He has become worn and tattered and we are here to retire him with honor."
The burning of the flag in retirement shouldn't be a sad or remorseful event, Gravely said.
"We are not burning (the flag) in anger," he said. "We are only releasing his spirit so that he can continue to serve us in our thoughts."
Scouts separated the flag's stars and bars, leaving only the red and white stripes and a faded blue cloth covered with 50 stars. Each color was then recognized with a salute before being placed over glowing hot embers.
The red stripes symbolize the blood spilled and of human sacrifice in defense of our glorious nation," Knights of Columbus Faithful Navigator Richard Whitaker said. The "white stripes signify the burning tears shed by Americans who lost their sons and symbolizes liberty - our land of the free."
The blue field represents God's Heaven, from beneath the flag flies, he said.
It is also an indication of "the true blue loyalty of our country's defenders," Whitaker said. "Stars, clustered together, unify 50 states as one for God and country, and are symbols of the united efforts ad hop in the hearts of the many people striving to keep America great."
People wishing to properly dispose of American flags may contact any member of American Legion Post 11 or leave their flags with the staff of The Pickens Sentinel.
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