John Day Boy Scout Troop 800 and Girls Troop 898 had their monthly campout during the final weekend in April and learned the proper way to dispose of a worn and tattered American flag in the process.

Scoutmaster Krista Qual said adding respectful flag disposal to the group’s most recent weekend outing coincides with the Scouts’ emphasis on citizenship and community service.

“They help with veterans, and they’ve helped put dinners on with veterans, they’ve helped with flag ceremonies at the Elks Lodge with veterans — it’s a really important piece of the Scout program,” Qual said. “There are a lot of other really amazing parts of it, but this is just one section that they really focus on — being a reverent citizen in America.”

Part of the citizenship training Scouts receive includes instruction on how to properly dispose of Old Glory once she’s flown in the breeze for the last time. Right before bed, the Scouts perform a ceremony in which a worn American flag is unfolded and presented in the correct way prior to disposal.

The U.S. Flag Code states that the flag should be destroyed in a dignified manner when it is no longer in a condition that is fit for display. While flags can be disposed of via respectful burying (which involves folding the flag in a ceremonial triangle and placing it in a sturdy wooden box in preparation for burial), burning the flag is the preferred method of disposal.

Opting to burn worn flags, the Scouts gently set one of the flag corners into the fire after properly opening and presenting the tattered national banner. The Scouts are then instructed and trained on how to stand quietly in reverence for those who have honored the flag and died for our country.

“That can be a little bit hard for some younger Scouts because they’re still learning how to do that, they’re still learning how to spend that time being quiet,” Qual said. “This is a good opportunity for them to learn why it’s important that we stand at attention and stand quietly for that time that the flag is burning because there are men and women in this country that have spent great amounts of time in discomfort, and for much longer periods of time.”

Qual said that when the fire finally goes out, it is important for the Scouts to retrieve the brass rings from the flags. The rings are held onto by the Scout troop leader.

Qual hopes the Scouts disposing of flags in the proper way leads to a larger recognition of the work the Scouts do throughout the community.

“I think the most important thing that the community needs to know is that there’s a group of young people that are getting the opportunity to learn how to honor our country, how to honor the men and women that have served our country and how to honor our flag in the correct and responsible way,” she said.

Qual said the local Boy and Girl Scout troops are always eager for more members, and there are scholarship opportunities available for kids who want to be in Scouting but have financial concerns.

For more information about joining a local Scout troop, or to request disposal for a worn American flag, call Greg Floyd at 971-403-5910.