OK, Champaign-Urbana: we know you love your American flags. You can see them all over neighborhoods, at businesses, across the University of Illinois campus and more. We have a very patriotic community, and it goes well beyond traditional flag-flying days including the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Flag Day.
During the 1940s the U.S. government created The Flag Code, which is the guide for all handling and display of the Stars and Stripes. We’ve told you all about how to display your flag, in a previous article. Now we want to address another issue: what do you with a flag that needs to be retired?
Whether it’s faded, tattered, or damaged, there are many reasons why a flag may be retired. (And yes, it’s better to dispose of a damaged or tattered flag than to fly it.) It doesn’t feel right to put a flag in recycling or trash, and for good reason. The preferred way to dispose of a flag is to respectfully burn it, but that’s not really practical for one person or family. Don’t worry, friends: there’s an easy peasy way to dispose of an American flag, right here in Champaign: just head over to the American Legion Post 24 at 705 Bloomington Road.
Go around the back of the building and there you will find something that looks like a mailbox, and it’s open 24-7. You don’t have to get there during certain hours. Just drop your flag in the box, and our friends at the American Legion will do the rest.
For more than 70 years, the American Legion has prioritized proper flag disposal as part of its service, performing The Ceremony for Disposal of Unserviceable Flags on a regular basis, most often on Flag Day. “The purpose of The American Legion in adopting this ceremony was to encourage proper respect for the Flag of the United States and to provide for disposal of unserviceable flags in a dignified manner.” (The ceremony is detailed online.)
Thank you, American Legion!