HOT PURSUIT
With one clutching a flag, some scouts take part in the proper disposal of the American flag during a retirement ceremony where 1,500 flags collected over the past year were destroyed. Submitted photo
In Minnesota’s theatre of seasons, it’s not uncommon to end up with torn, ripped and damaged flags.
A couple of area service organizations are making sure that proper disposal methods are being used to retire those worn flags. The Knights of Columbus recently teamed up with one of the local Scouting America troops, once known as boy scouts. About 70 people attended the flag retirement ceremony at the Izaak Walton League south of Owatonna.
Dean Schuette of the Knights coordinated the effort which involved the retirement of 1,500 flags collected over the past year from various businesses and organizations around the county.
While fire is a practice supported by the U.S. Flag Code for dignified disposal, the ceremony is much more than just a large bonfire of burning flags, Schuette said. “We have a proper ceremony with a set of rules to go by in order to retire the flags with dignity,” he said.
Rev. Marreddy Pothireddy of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church offered an innovation, prayer and blessings as part of the respectful ritual. “We are backed by the faith community and get the Catholic churches involved,” said Schuette. The Knights are a Catholic fraternal organization.
A Knights choir performed various patriotic songs during the solemn ceremony.
The scouts are involved with a sacrificial lowering of the flag, which is then handed off to one of the scout leaders.
The ceremony also involves folding the flag and placing it in the fire. After complete burning, the ashes are buried or scattered in a dignified manner.
“This is all done in a very dignified and respectful manner,” Schuette says. “No flag ever touches the ground.”
Schuette said several organizations, including the VFW and American Legion, used to have flag retiring ceremonies, but haven’t been able to keep it up in recent years. That’s when the Knights stepped up “to take it upon ourselves to help the community,” he said.
About 10 scouts and leaders took part in this year’s ceremony. Schuette said the Knights have sponsored this particular troop for at least the past 40 years. “The Knights and Boy Scouts are like brother organizations,” he explained. “We help each other out.”
For Schuette, it’s a relief to have a final resting place for the tattered flags. “It’s a dignified and solemn event,” he said. “It gives you goose bumps, and it’s really impactful on the Boy Scouts,” he added.
The process will now begin for collecting additional worn flags to be disposed of next year. Anyone looking to dispose their flags can do so by dropping them off at the VFW or Legion clubs in Owatonna. They will be stored away until the next flag retirement ceremony.
America is the home of the free and the brave, and the flag is our greatest way to express patriotism, freedom and unity. Let’s all make sure we go in hot pursuit of properly disposing the emblem representing our liberty.