Katie Peterson | Staff Writer
Flag Day is June 14 and, according to the U.S. Flag Code, is one of several holidays when the U.S. flag should be flown if it is not already flown year-round; but there are etiquette rules that must be followed when the flag is on display.
Outdoors:
• The flag is typically flown from sunrise to sunset but can be displayed 24/7 if it is properly illuminated during the night hours.
• The flag should be taken down during inclement weather unless an all-weather flag (generally made of nylon) is used.
• When flying on an in-ground flagpole, the length of the flag should be between one-fourth and one-third the length of the pole.
• The flag should always be flown right-side up unless it signals dire distress in situations of extreme danger to life or property.
• Other flags, such as state flags, may be displayed on the same flagpole with the U.S. flag, but they must be below the national flag; other nations’ flags must never be flown on the same flagpole as the U.S. flag.
•If other flags are displayed on different poles of the same height, the U.S. flag must be displayed on the viewer’s left.
Indoors:
• The flag may be hung on the wall either vertically or horizontally as long as the union side is to the viewer’s top left.
• During speeches, if on a pole, the flag should be placed to the speaker’s right.
Half-Staff Days:
Flags should be flown at half-staff for the following holidays:
• Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15
• Memorial Day (until noon) the last Monday in May
• Korean War Veterans Armistice Day on July 27
• Patriots Day on Sept. 11
• National Firefighters Memorial Day the first Sunday in October
• Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on Dec. 7
Flags should also be flown at half-staff by proclamation of the president of the United States or a state governor. This often occurs with the death of a primary government leader, including a president or former president, a vice president, governors or members of Congress.
Other protocols:
• The flag must never touch the ground.
• The flag should never be used as a covering for a statue or monument.
• The flag should never be used to hold or carry anything.
• The flag should never be used in such a way that would result in it being torn, dirtied or damaged.
•The flag should not have anything placed on it, attached to it or marked on it.
Retiring the Flag:
Flags that are worn or deemed unrepairable should be properly retired, preferably by burning; however, they can also be dropped off at any Veterans of Foreign Wars post or acceptable collection receptacles for proper disposal.
Fort Leavenworth has two collection bins for retired flags including one at the Fort Leavenworth Recycling Center on West Warehouse Road near Organ Avenue and one by the Fort Leavenworth Commissary parking lot.
