For David Fields, it’s a reminder of his daughter, who is serving our country as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot.
At funerals, Cmdr. Steve White makes sure it is folded correctly for presentation to the families of those who have served.
And Brad Waltman believes instructing young Boy Scouts about flag etiquette is a sacred duty.
For many Americans, the Fourth of July is about picnics, parades and fireworks. But for Fields, White and Waltman, the holiday is about love of country, and the symbol of our country – Old Glory, the Stars and Stripes – is not getting the honor and respect it deserves, they say.
“I’ve seen flags around town that aren’t raised properly or are past their time and should be disposed of respectfully,” Fields said, “and I think about how my daughter risks her life on a daily basis for that flag, how so many before have been willing to do the same, including losing their lives.”
One reason may be a disconnect from the military for many citizens, said White, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 4031 in Durango.
“In Vietnam, lots of us went, and we served one tour, so many families had someone they were flying the flag for,” he said. “In these current wars, fewer people are going, and they’re deployed multiple times, so less families are engaged.”
Teaching proper care
Lecturing people isn’t the right way to improve treatment of the flag, White said, but leading by example can.
“There are lots of little things that if done right, they show why the flag is what it is. If people just put it anywhere, it doesn’t show the respect it deserves.” said Waltman, who is the advancement chairman for the Mesa Verde District of Boy Scouts,
The VFW and its Color Guard are attending a lot of funerals for veterans these days – they’ve attended 27 in the last 15 weeks, including one Thursday – where folding the flag and presenting it to the family are a key part of the service, White said.
“A lot of people just fold it up,” he said. “But the triangular folds are traditional, and you always present the flag with the blue background and stars showing on top.”
A key lesson for Tenderfoots in Boy Scouts is learning not only how to fold the flag properly but learning the meaning of every fold, Waltman said.
“Each fold represents things women and men have done for this country and things our country has been through,” he said.
What about our pledge?
The lack of respect is most obvious when it comes to the Pledge of Allegiance and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Waltman, a Cortez resident, said.
“They’re not doing the flag or the pledge in schools anymore,” he said. “I went to a high school basketball game over here, and it was embarrassing. Both sides, including the teams, were ignoring the pledge and the anthem. People in the stands didn’t take their hats off, and they were talking on their phones.”
Recently, his wife, a teacher, was taking a continuing education course at Fort Lewis College.
“The teacher, and he was a younger guy, said he knew it was old-fashioned, but they were going to start with the Pledge of Allegiance,” Waltman said. “She was so pleased.”
Retire an old flag
One the most common errors, Waltman said, is what people do with a flag that is dirty, faded or ragged. Both the VFW and the Scouts provide help for retiring a worn-out flag.
“A lot of times, people may not realize that a flag is not worthy of being flown,” he said, “or sometimes, they can’t afford a new one.”
One Boy Scout troop used to go into businesses or knock on doors and tell people they might not realize their flag was in bad shape, Waltman said.
“So the troop would offer a new flag and even put it up for them,” he said. “And then they would retire the old flag correctly.”
Burning is the correct way to terminate an American flag’s life.
“Diesel burns the hottest, and you want it to burn thoroughly and fast so pieces don’t fly in the air,” he said. “The hotter, the better. Sometimes, we invite the American Legion, and they do a 21-gun salute. The boys like that.”
The fire is a culmination of a ceremony, and after a fire has cooled, the Scouts collect the grommets from the larger flags and give them to scoutmasters to make awards for Scouts who are excelling.
In August, the Boy Scouts in Cortez are planning to invite the community to a campout, Waltman said.
On the Friday night, they’ll have a flag-retirement ceremony and campfire, and the next day, Scouts will teach etiquette, symbolism and the raising of the flag to anyone who is interested.
“For example, we teach that the flag wants to stay up in the air, so it goes up quickly,” he said. “But it lowers slowly, because it doesn’t want to come down.”
The bottom line for all three men is the meaning of the flag.
“I wonder, will my grandson know how great a country he lives in, and will he grow to love his country?” Fields said.