Elks Lodge to host retirement flag ceremony

WESLACO — A local Boy Scout troop and community volunteers are joining forces to offer local residents an honorable method to dispose of old American flags.

As part of a special Flag Day ceremony, Boy Scout Troop 100 will accept tattered, torn and worn American flags of any size during an authorized flag retirement ceremony at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Weslaco Elks Lodge.

Flag Day coordinator Fred McCaleb said this is a perfect opportunity for the public to give worn American flags the proper retirement they deserve. The service is free of charge, but donations will be accepted.

"We pay too little attention today with flags," McCaleb said. "We don't service the flags right."

Every year since 1960, the Elks Lodge celebrates Flag Day, but the last time they had a special retirement ceremony was seven years ago, McCaleb said.

"Since then, there are a lot of flags," McCaleb said. "I know because people bring them in all the time."

The service comes days after the June 6 65th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France. The landings signaled the start of the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe.

 
The ceremony will consist of a tribute to the flag, leading to a history of the flag's design that will be followed by a flag-folding ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute.

McCaleb said the event is a perfect opportunity for young children to get to learn the history of the American flag and why it should be respected.

"A lot of people don't know the reason why it's folded 13 times," he said. "We'll have an explanation on why it's folded. We're hoping the children get something out of it."

Special guests include KURV radio host ret. U.S. Army Col. Ray Coughenour, Mayor Buddy De La Rosa and Harry Brunwell, who served in a prison camp during the Korean War.

The ceremony will also include free hotdogs and watermelon.