Boy scouts learn respect and legacy through flag retirement ceremony
Saint Michaels, Md. – The sun shone through the smoke as the boy scouts gathered around their scoutmaster’s recently built fire. The flags they were getting ready to burn were neatly folded into the proper triangular shape.
“Okay, so I know a lot of you know and hear about it. When we talk about flag burnings, a lot of times we talk to protesters. That’s a negative connotation. That’s not what this is about,” their scoutmaster Brendan Beers said. “This is about … showing [the flags] the respect that they deserve as they were representing our country. So we’re going to hold it over the flame. We want to burn it completely, fully, before we move on.”
On Saturday, a troop of Boy Scouts filed into St. Mary’s Square for a flag burning ceremony, the proper way of retiring flags when they are worn, torn or sun bleached.
“This is the proper way to dispose of flags,” Beers said. “We show a ton of respect for the flags. They’ve flown on our flag poles. They’ve flown throughout this community down here in Saint Michaels for years. And over those times, they’ve slowly become worn, sun-bleached. Some are tattered. So what we are doing here today is by honoring the times of the flags that have been served by properly disposing of them.”
For 12-year-old Samuel Logan-Fort, the experience was “shocking,” but also made him feel like he was a part of something bigger than himself.
“I felt kind of, like, I’m part of this, and I have to do it respectfully, and it’s nice to know how to respectfully do it,” he said.
Beers said the way the ceremony is conducted is important; handling the flag with care, making sure it never touches the ground and disposing of it completely.
For the boys, this is a way for them to give back.
“I felt kind of honored to be part of everything. Anything in the community, it’s always great thing to be a part of,” Samuel said.
As for what they learned through the ceremony, some of the scouts said they would go back home to their parents with a bit of history and newfound respect for the stars and stripes.
“I think it’s a good, respectful thing to do to honor the flags that have flown for our country,” Boy Scout Noah Fears said.
