Flag Day & the 236th Army Birthday

I loved being in the Army.  Actually considering whether to go back in to serve as a JAG in a reserve unit now, just because I miss the camaraderie so much.  So, I get a little lump watching videos like this one:

Meanwhile, our resident Flag Expert, Mike Buss, must have had himself a busy day yesterday, as he popped up in a slew of Flag-related stories today.

First, from the Register Mail:

For Mike Buss, flag expert at The American Legion headquarters in Indianapolis, June 14 is not just another day — it is Flag Day, a day for celebrating the establishment of the national flag.

“A lot of people forget about Flag Day,” said Buss.

Buss said some people celebrate Flag Day by having informational programs or with flag disposal ceremonies, “But for most people, it’s just another day in the week.”

Flag Day has its origins in the Flag Act passed June 14, 1777, by the Continental Congress, establishing the Stars and Stripes as the national flag. Flag Day was first celebrated in 1877, on the flag’s 100th birthday. In 1942, a code of flag etiquette, known as the Flag Code, was adopted as public law. The Flag Code includes sections for time and occasions for display of the flag, position and manner of display, respecting the flag and conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of the flag.

Before serving as a flag expert, Buss first learned how to fly the flag as a Cub Scout and learned more about proper flag care and presentation as a Naval officer. After joining the American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans service organization, he learned even more from reference books.

We get quite a few calls from folks asking about how to properly care for and treat the flag.  He discusses some of the recurring questions in an article with the Herald Citizen:

According to Buss, the flag should be flown during daylight hours but the flag can fly at night as long as it is properly illuminated.

"We here at The American Legion take the interpretation of proper illumination to be either a single source of light," he said.

Spot lights, flood lights and even street lights are acceptable means of illuminating a flag.

"If there's something that casts enough illumination when you're walking by and you look up and see that's a flag flying then, hey, that's good enough for us," Buss said.

In inclement weather, the flag should not be flown unless it is an all-weather flag and according to Buss, the flags of today are made out of all-weather materials.

Eventually, flags become worn and tattered and are no longer suitable for flying but then the question of what to do with the flags presents itself.

"That's when it's time to take that flag down and take it to one of our 15,000 American Legion posts around the country," Buss said. 

Next week I head out to Virginia Boys State where I serve as a counsellor for one week a year.  One of the best things we do there for the kids is run a flag retirement ceremony. There's always a hint of fear that the kids won't address it with appropriate sincerity, and as yet that has never happened.  It always gives me hope that 50 years from now Flag Day will be just as central to our society as it is to me today.