Maybe not the perfect (flag retirement) ceremony (many Youtube comments), but the message is clear for the youth present; respect our flag and what it stands for.

 

Sean,

Does your troop separate out the Union first, and if so, is it first or last to be burned?

Do you separate each stripe, and call out each colony it represents?

There are many ways of performing this ceremony, and so long as utmost respect is shown, they are all correct.

Pop

 

Pop, typically the cubs don't have a lot of patience, so we share the story of the flag with multiple readers, then the pre-cut flag is placed in the fire all at once. After leaving in silence, a few adults remain to put out the fire. Early the next day someone retrieves the grommets and they are presented as a recognition to someone. The one time we cut up the large flag, the blue field went into the fire first followed by the stripes, one by one. I like the idea of calling out the colonies, but the boys start falling asleep in their chairs by 9:30pm, so we have a quicker ceremony.

 

Retrieving and presenting the grommets is a GREAT idea!

Sort of like a challenge coin, something that means something, and can be easily carried with them.

Pop

 

Hope you all had a good 4th.. I have been lurking more than posting over the last year... Hope your all well..

 

Hey Phil, great to hear from you. Doing great on this end.

 

Very nice Bill!