An American Flag Retirement Ceremony was held on Chautauqua Street in Fredona.

Last month, American Legion Post 59 held an American Flag Retirement Ceremony on Chautauqua Street to honor the national symbol and begin the process of respectfully discontinuing the service of thousands of flags obtained from their owners in the community.

A flag is no longer usable if it is tattered, worn, faded or dirty beyond being able to be flown respectfully. The U.S. Flag Code allows for the dignified burning of a flag that has reached the end of its usable life. The local American Legion has collected such flags for many years in order to host flag retirement ceremonies once or twice a year.

The event featured words from several speakers, including current Post 59 Commander Jasen Erick, as well as one his predecessors Walter Sedlmayer, Chaplain Allan Liedke, and Sergeant at Arms Joel Pollito.

While many think of the U.S. military and those who have served in it when they see the flag, and it certainly does represent them, Liedke — retired from the U.S. Air Force, Chief Master Sergeant — added that “the flag represents and honors more than just veterans.”

Commander Erick added, “It represents the police, those people who rush in, who keep us safe, who are there if we have problems. It represents firemen, those who rush into burning homes and rush into any kind of catastrophe in the county or the state and take care of it. The flag represents those EMS workers, who make sure that we have the best care that we can possibly have. The flag represents people of all races, both male and female, and people of all beliefs.”

Erick additionally included America’s children and their parents (“Our children many times grow up to learn that burning the American flag is a symbol of protest, but in actuality, although that sometimes does happen, this is the way we retire our flags:) and teachers (“Our greatest heroes in my mind … They teach our young people the values of America. If our teachers don’t stand strong, our country is in deep trouble”), doctors, nurses, legal professionals, engineers, politicians, churches and faiths.