Legion hosts ceremony to retire flags no longer fit to serve
Published 9:18 pm Sunday, June 11, 2023
Albert Allen, left, with the Albert Lea Post 56 American Legion Honor Guard and Bill Koza with the Albert Lea American Legion Riders participate in the disposal ceremony for unserviceable flags Sunday afternoon in the North Broadway parking lot. The ceremony recognizes that the flags have reached their current worn state due to proper service of tribute, memory and love. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Albert Allen, right, and Kurt Freitag participate in the ceremony Sunday. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Members of the Albert Lea American Legion Honor Guard and American Legion Riders listen during a ceremony Sunday afternoon for unserviceable flags. The Legion has a simiilar ceremony every year to properly dispose of flags that are no longer fit for use. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Post 56 Cmdr. Ole Olson, second from right, speaks during the ceremony for unserviceable flags Sunday. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Members of the American Legion walk across the North Broadway parking lot as others look on in back. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Mark Gilbert with the American Legion Riders takes part in the flag disposal ceremony Sunday in the North Broadway parking lot for unserviceable flags. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
The flags draped over the metal frame were burned to ash during the ceremony. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
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Each year, Albert Lea’s American Legion Post 56 hosts a Disposal of Unserviceable Flag Ceremony close to Flag Day.
The ceremony this year was held on Sunday in the North Broadway parking lot.
During the ceremony, the flags that are no longer serviceable are presented to the Legion commander, who determines they should, in fact, be discarded. When it’s agreed upon that they’ve reached their current worn state due to proper service, a color guard presents the colors and a chaplain offers a prayer.
Ceremonial burning is considered to be the proper, dignified way of destroying U.S. flags that are no longer fit to serve the nation.
The Legion collects unserviceable flags throughout the year in a collection box to the south of its building on Broadway.
