Dozens of flags retired on Flag Day

RIO RANCHO — Triple-digit weather isn’t a typical time for a fire pit, but there was a reason for the three set up at Church of the Incarnation Saturday evening.

The Knights of Columbus Assembly 3309 and Council 15199, assisted by Boy Scouts of America Troop 714 of Rio Rancho, hosted a U.S. flag retirement ceremony on Flag Day and also marked the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army.

John Alvarado, a member of the Knights and an Army veteran who served as emcee of the event, said it’s something the organization tries to do annually, working around the church’s schedule and other events it hosts.

“We are an order that supports patriotic emblems of the country,” he said, and hosting these ceremonies helps fulfill that mission as the U.S. flag is one of the most visible symbols of the nation.

“The Knights of Columbus, we’re a patriotic organization,” Alvarado said during the ceremony. “This is one of our responsibilities, to conduct a flag retirement ceremony once a year. This event might have been a cooler evening if we did it in early spring or in late September, but we’re doing it now because of the coincidence of the birthday along with Flag Day.”

“I hope this will be meaningful for you,” KOC Faithful Navigator Jim Guth told the small crowd gathered, underscoring the double observance.

At the start of the ceremony, Scout Chaplain William Thompson provided an invocation. “We ask that you bless these flags that your faithful have diligently flown with respect. I ask that you protect all those in our armed forces who serve to ensure that we continue to have the right to fly these flags,” he said, as the flags are retired “in accordance with the laws of our country.”

According to U.S. Flag Code, “The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”

As the burning got underway, a ceremonial first flag was burned, followed by 50 flags that each represented one of the states of the nation. The remaining flags were brought up by veterans in the crowd. One of those veterans was first-time participant, Al Tetreault, an Air Force veteran with service in Vietnam and a retiree from the Albuquerque Police Department. A total of 75 flags were retired during the ceremony, Alvarado said, noting that they had more and may hold an additional ceremony later in the year.

“We’ve had the opportunity over the years to participate in many of these flag retirement ceremonies, but the magnitude, or significance, is not lost on us,” said Scoutmaster Chris Osbourn. “Participation in things like this are key to the three principles of Scouting: our duty to God, our duty to community and our duty to ourselves.”

Osbourn also read the significance of the “13 Folds of the American Flag,” noting that while many believe they represent the original 13 colonies of the United States, they have been assigned deeper meaning by veterans.

The symbolization of the fifth fold was a fitting thought on the same day hundreds of protests were held nationwide and as tensions rose in the Middle East: “The fifth fold is a tribute to our country. For in the words of Stephen Decatur, ‘Our country is dealing with countries. May she always be right, but it is still our country, right or wrong.’”

The end of the tribute summarized what the flag represents to many: “After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it has the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under Gen. George Washington and the sailors and Marines who served under Capt. John Paul Jones and were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the U.S. Armed Forces, preserving for us the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today,” Osbourn read.

Another tribute, “I Am Old Glory,” was read by past KOC Faithful Navigator Ron Meyer:

“Men and women have defended me with their blood and their lives because I stand for what is good in your country ... I have become a symbol of a growing, changing nation ...

“My blue field is a symbol of their faith and glory. My red stripes denote their sacrifice and bravery, even the loss of their life-giving blood. My white denotes the purity of heart and mind.

“But tonight, my colors reflect my years, for I am faded, tattered and worn. Rather than reflect misunderstanding upon those characteristics and colors for which I have flown, I must be retired so that fresh colors can be raised. The only proper retirement of my emblem is to return to the earth through fire, for fire symbolically denotes the presence of God.

“Fore more than 10 score years, I have been the banner of hope and continue to be an enduring banner of the United States of America, freedom for generation after generation of Americans. Men have followed me into battles with unwavering courage. You have looked on me as a symbol of national unity, happiness. So long as you live, love liberty more than life itself, so long as truth, justice and charity for all remain rooted in our human hearts, I shall continue to be the enduring banner of the United States of America. But tonight, I say farewell.”