16 June 2009
Golden Girl Scout Flag Retirement
Posted by admin under: community service .
Here’s something I wanted to pass along because there was a myth circulating that I bought into for a long while and can authoritatively debunk. It was said to me that only the military, American Legion, and the military were authorized to retire flags. My Girl Scouts were deeply disappointed (well, my daughter was) because we all fly flags and they need to be retired periodically so we handed them over to the Boy Scout troop for proper ceremony. However, it bugged me that this was the case so I went to the flag code in the federal law to see for myself that there was this restriction and learned that there is not. Here is what the code says
Title 4 Section 8 (k)
The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
So, burning isn’t even required, much less who does it. The destruction needs to be dignified. That’s it. There are some grand traditions that have developed out of this instruction and I’ve attended some retirements that brought tears to my eyes, but I finally figured out that I can and really should have my Girl Scouts participate in the proper method of retirement of the flag. I feel that it encourages love of country. Heather Kays at newsleader.com feels the same way, I guess, because she posted a story about Jessica Owens performing a flag retirement for her Gold Award project.
Harold Harris, 83, of Staunton and a member of VFW Post 2216, spoke to the group of Girl Scouts following a flag burning ceremony Sunday.
“Do you know what happens to them now?” Harris asked, as he moved the ashes of an American flag around with a stick. “They are put into a container and buried. Then that spot is sacred.”
Harris, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, said that he has attended dozens of the ceremonies and never tires of them.
“I live to teach these kids to be respectful of the flag,” Harris said.
About 30 people gathered around the fire at the VFW Post 2216 on Frontier Drive on Sunday afternoon for the flag burning ceremony.
The ceremony, conducted on Flag Day, was part of 18-year-old Jessica Owens’ Gold Award project. The Gold Award is the highest honor offered by the Girl Scouts and is the equivalent of the Boy Scouts Eagle Scout rank, according to Barbara Powell, leader of Troop 567.
“For their first time, they’ve done a beautiful job,” Harris said after the girls read passages about the importance of the proper ritual to dispose of a flag. “Of course, they learn as they go.”
I’ve got a giant flag donated by my former employer just waiting for the right opporunity for the girls to perform a retirement ceremony. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.
- Girl Scouts Bring Derrick Mason Out of Retirement
- Sunday’s Golden Girls – 10/12/2008
- Any Questions, Girls?
- Girl Scout Blog Isn’t Dead!
- GSUSA: Timely Rededication
