thedrifter
12-11-06, 07:01 AM
Article published Monday, December 11, 2006
GROUP GIVES A BURNING GOOD-BYE TO NATION'S SYMBOL
Official rite sends worn flags off in blaze of old glory
By DAVID PATCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Group gives a burning good-bye to nation's symbol
There were big flags and little flags, plastic flags and cloth flags, mostly United States flags but also a few others - several thousand in all, and most of them met their ritual ends in ceremonial pyres yesterday afternoon behind a West Toledo church.
Most, but not all, because the eight participating members of Operation Respect, which collects worn-out, faded, or otherwise "unserviceable" flags for proper disposal, checked each one before burning it to ensure that it was indeed no longer suited for public display.
The condition of many flags delivered to the group, which collects them on the weekend closest to Veterans Day each November at The Andersons stores, left little doubt about their fate. The blue had faded to purple, or the red had faded to pink, or the wind had shredded the outer edge away from the field of stars.
"A lot of people have these and don't know what to do with them," said Jim Nowak, a captain in the Ohio Military Reserve which, along with the Marine Corps League and local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, were represented among the flag-burners yesterday.
The ritual begins with a scripted ceremony in which the flags are pronounced unserviceable, after which a representative flag is cut apart so that its field of stars is separated from the stripes.
The cutting renders it no longer an official flag, and it is thrown onto the burgeoning bonfire.
To fully adhere to flag-retirement guidelines, each flag would be cut before burning, but Mr. Nowak learned in the first year that doing so was far too time consuming; it took several days to destroy all the retired flags the group had collected that year, instead of the two-plus hours needed yesterday.
"It's a good opportunity, because you can actually serve your country by doing it," said Jessica Kowalski, 10, of Girl Scout Troop 375 in Toledo.
Daniel Ampthor, 15, a member of Boy Scout Troop 87 in Sylvania, said he had been reluctant to spend part of his Sunday afternoon burning flags, but his father persuaded him to do it.
"Now that I'm here, I'm really glad I did it. It gave me a whole new respect for the American flag," he said. "I'm kind of disappointed that more people didn't show up."
The few flags that were spared yesterday included some that had 48 stars. That indicates that they were made before 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii gained statehood, and Mr. Nowak, the event's organizer for its six-year history, is soft on those.
Mr. Nowak is practiced enough that he can spot 48-star flags from a fair distance, even if the flag is folded. He often notices a 48-star in another person's hands even before that person realizes what he's holding.
A year or two ago, he recalled, one of the flags in the disposal collection looked like a 48-star, but the pattern was off slightly. It turned out to have just 46 stars - a flag that represented the United States only between 1907, when Oklahoma gained statehood, and 1912, when New Mexico and Arizona were admitted to the union.
The flags saved yesterday also included some nearly new 50-stars, which Mr. Nowak said would eventually be offered in trade to people displaying tattered flags at their homes or businesses. In the past, he said, some flags so new they were still wrapped in plastic have been found in the pile and saved.
But even a 48-star finds its way to the flames if it's in rough enough condition. That was the case with a tiny souvenir 48-star flag, no bigger than a baseball card, that was in the batch burned yesterday behind NorthPoint Church on West Laskey Road.
It was among the smallest to be destroyed, while a few were big enough to cover a modest-sized room - the sort of flag one typically sees at a sports stadium, or perhaps flying over a patriotic auto dealership.
Among the flags there are always a few oddballs. Most common are Ohio state flags, of which about a dozen were destroyed yesterday. There also was a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action flag, a U.S. Navy flag, and a U.S. Marines flag.
"I'll give it a proper burial," said Larry Barnett of the Marine Corps League before tossing the red Marines' banner on the pyre.
A University of Toledo flag someone had stuffed in one of the bags was rejected, as have other inappropriate flags in the past, Mr. Nowak said.
People who have faded, worn, or torn flags ready for retirement need not wait until next November to deliver them to Operation Respect.
"It is OK for an individual" to retire a flag by cutting it apart and burning it, Mr. Nowak said, but otherwise they may be delivered to veterans' groups like the American Legion or the Veterans of Foreign Wars for proper disposal.
Contact David Patch at: dpatch@theblade.com or 419-724-6094.
Ellie
GROUP GIVES A BURNING GOOD-BYE TO NATION'S SYMBOL
Official rite sends worn flags off in blaze of old glory
By DAVID PATCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Group gives a burning good-bye to nation's symbol
There were big flags and little flags, plastic flags and cloth flags, mostly United States flags but also a few others - several thousand in all, and most of them met their ritual ends in ceremonial pyres yesterday afternoon behind a West Toledo church.
Most, but not all, because the eight participating members of Operation Respect, which collects worn-out, faded, or otherwise "unserviceable" flags for proper disposal, checked each one before burning it to ensure that it was indeed no longer suited for public display.
The condition of many flags delivered to the group, which collects them on the weekend closest to Veterans Day each November at The Andersons stores, left little doubt about their fate. The blue had faded to purple, or the red had faded to pink, or the wind had shredded the outer edge away from the field of stars.
"A lot of people have these and don't know what to do with them," said Jim Nowak, a captain in the Ohio Military Reserve which, along with the Marine Corps League and local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, were represented among the flag-burners yesterday.
The ritual begins with a scripted ceremony in which the flags are pronounced unserviceable, after which a representative flag is cut apart so that its field of stars is separated from the stripes.
The cutting renders it no longer an official flag, and it is thrown onto the burgeoning bonfire.
To fully adhere to flag-retirement guidelines, each flag would be cut before burning, but Mr. Nowak learned in the first year that doing so was far too time consuming; it took several days to destroy all the retired flags the group had collected that year, instead of the two-plus hours needed yesterday.
"It's a good opportunity, because you can actually serve your country by doing it," said Jessica Kowalski, 10, of Girl Scout Troop 375 in Toledo.
Daniel Ampthor, 15, a member of Boy Scout Troop 87 in Sylvania, said he had been reluctant to spend part of his Sunday afternoon burning flags, but his father persuaded him to do it.
"Now that I'm here, I'm really glad I did it. It gave me a whole new respect for the American flag," he said. "I'm kind of disappointed that more people didn't show up."
The few flags that were spared yesterday included some that had 48 stars. That indicates that they were made before 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii gained statehood, and Mr. Nowak, the event's organizer for its six-year history, is soft on those.
Mr. Nowak is practiced enough that he can spot 48-star flags from a fair distance, even if the flag is folded. He often notices a 48-star in another person's hands even before that person realizes what he's holding.
A year or two ago, he recalled, one of the flags in the disposal collection looked like a 48-star, but the pattern was off slightly. It turned out to have just 46 stars - a flag that represented the United States only between 1907, when Oklahoma gained statehood, and 1912, when New Mexico and Arizona were admitted to the union.
The flags saved yesterday also included some nearly new 50-stars, which Mr. Nowak said would eventually be offered in trade to people displaying tattered flags at their homes or businesses. In the past, he said, some flags so new they were still wrapped in plastic have been found in the pile and saved.
But even a 48-star finds its way to the flames if it's in rough enough condition. That was the case with a tiny souvenir 48-star flag, no bigger than a baseball card, that was in the batch burned yesterday behind NorthPoint Church on West Laskey Road.
It was among the smallest to be destroyed, while a few were big enough to cover a modest-sized room - the sort of flag one typically sees at a sports stadium, or perhaps flying over a patriotic auto dealership.
Among the flags there are always a few oddballs. Most common are Ohio state flags, of which about a dozen were destroyed yesterday. There also was a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action flag, a U.S. Navy flag, and a U.S. Marines flag.
"I'll give it a proper burial," said Larry Barnett of the Marine Corps League before tossing the red Marines' banner on the pyre.
A University of Toledo flag someone had stuffed in one of the bags was rejected, as have other inappropriate flags in the past, Mr. Nowak said.
People who have faded, worn, or torn flags ready for retirement need not wait until next November to deliver them to Operation Respect.
"It is OK for an individual" to retire a flag by cutting it apart and burning it, Mr. Nowak said, but otherwise they may be delivered to veterans' groups like the American Legion or the Veterans of Foreign Wars for proper disposal.
Contact David Patch at: dpatch@theblade.com or 419-724-6094.
Ellie