how should you retire and old American Flag?

at school we burned it with the boyscouts but it seemed disrespectful..... is taht the way your're supposed to retire a flag?

Public Comments

1. Old, tattered & worn out flags are typically burned to destroy them.
2. Your were right, you burn her!
3. I use them for patches on my hippy clothes.
4. yup
5. there is a very strict way to go about doing that with the flag and not just anybody is allowed to do it, usually if you have a flag thats old and destroyed what you should do is take it to a VFW or American Legion and they can properly dispose of it.. it may seem like burning it is disrespectful but its not if it is done in the right why by people who know how to properly do it
6. You're supposed to burn it.
7. yup
8. Welp you could leave them hanging like a lot of people until they are all frayed, ripped and a sore sight hangin on the house!
9. Most American Legion Posts regularly conduct a dignified flag burning ceremony, often on Flag Day, June 14th. Many Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, and Girl Scout Troops retire flags regularly as well. Contact your local American Legion Hall or Scout Troop to inquire about the availability of this service.
10. Yes, burning is the proper way to retire a flag. There are a number of ceremonies on-line (generally on Scouting sites) that address flag retirement. The VFW color guard told me that they respectfully place them in a burn barrel. Their ceremony is private, but they came to ours. They inspected the flags that were to be retired to make sure that they were truly ready for retirement. They were very touched that my Girl Scouts read a poem that explained what the parts of the flag represent, and cut the stripes apart as each original state's name was read. The grommets were saved because they didn't burn and were given to the leaders that were present.
11. The way that you are supposed to do it is with a little ceremony. The American Legion and other type organizations will do this for you, but you can do it yourself. The flag in question is inspected and found to be no longer fit for display or service. Some flags, battle damaged ones, or historic ones, will be remanded to a display case, or repair. Once the flag is found unfit, the flag is them separated from it's elements. With a razor blade preferably, the stripes are cut away from the union, and the each other. These are put respectfully onto the fire. The stars on the union are then cut away from each other and they are placed on the fire. While this is being done, the history of the flag can be recited, along with the rules of display and so forth. When the whole thing is on the fire, a period of silence is then conducted. After this, a new flag can be brought out and dedicated to the place where the old one flew. Sort of a Taking the place of the fallen sort of deal. In this way, a flag, which is merely material, can become The flag of the USA, the symbol of freedom.
12. you can also take ti to the post office and they will take burn it the right way.
13. The burning of old flags is done in a respectful manner, with a proper ceremony.
14. they are burnt in fire or sold
15. I agree with the other posters that you should find a VFW to dispose of it.
16. You burn it