THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 1996 TAG: 9606050117
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 47 lines
Burning the American flag may be an act of desecration or patriotism.
Many Americans remember seeing critics of the country burn the stars and stripes defiantly and gleefully.
For that reason, there is hesitancy about the proper way of destroying an American flag that has lost its colors or is tattered and torn - unserviceable.
Burning is the American way.
To make area residents feel comfortable about it, several organizations are inviting the public to join them June 14 - Flag Day - for a flag-retirement ceremony at the Boy Scout Amphitheater behind Johnson's Gardens on Holland Road.
If you still feel uncomfortable about burning a flag, you can let someone else do the job that night.
The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Constantia Chapter; Bethlehem Boy Scout Troop 30, Kings Fork Ruritans, Bethlehem Ruritans are hosting the ceremony.
``The DAR did this several years ago. This year, they approached Scout Troop 30,'' said Robert Lewis, assistant scoutmaster. ``We've missed in educating children on how to use and respect the flag. The ceremony is an ideal opportunity to provide a learning experience for the boys and the general public.''
They will learn that different organizations use different methods for flag burning. The scouts will illustrate several of them during the ceremony.
The one most often used by Boy Scouts is largely copied from the American Legion Manual of Ceremonies.
A small fire with a cooking rack above it is set. Pronouncements that the flag can no longer be used are followed by a recommendation that it be ``honorably retired from further service.'' ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
What: Flag Retirement Ceremony
When: June 14, 7 p.m.
Where: Boy Scout Amphitheater, behind Johnson's Gardens, 3201
Holland Road
Free
FYI: Anyone with faded, torn or otherwise unserviceable flags may
leave them at these Suffolk funeral homes: Baker, 509 W. Washington
St.; Harrell, 2460 Pruden Blvd.; Hill, 447 W. Washington St.
Call: 925-6451 or 934-3849 by CNB