Selma American Legion Post 20 will conduct a ceremony today to retire torn or tattered American flags.

This marks the third year the legion has offered the retirement ceremony to the community. It will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Thomas R. Mackin Post located at 4210 Highway 80 West.

“When you have an American flag, and it’s been used and it’s worn out, you shouldn’t just throw the flags away,” said John Coon, post 20 adjutant. “There’s a proper way to retire the flag and that’s through a burning ceremony.”

The United States Flag Code, 4 USC Sec 8 Para (k), states, “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.”

Because most people do not know how to properly retire an American flag, the American Legion holds ceremonies such as this to help the community as well as teach the public how.

“Our local American Legion Post tries to do this at least one a year to give the local community an opportunity to bring their old flags out and retire them,” Coon said. “It’s one of the activities that a lot of American Legion Post’s participate in every year and arrange for their communities, so we just thought it would be good to do it in Selma. We like to make the opportunity available for people to bring their flags out and get them retired in a respectful ceremony.”

Coon himself served in the military, and he said the flag means so much to him and he wants the next generation to feel the same.

“As a veteran and having been served my country for 25 years, I respect the flag and I think we aught to honor the flag and not just throw flags away in a garbage can or something. We should go by the … correct way to retire the flag,” Coon said. “We’re happy to do that and I’m glad to be able to participate.”

Coon said he, along with post commander Paul Duke, encourages the community to attend the ceremony.

“They are invited to come, bring their flags, bring their children so we can help educate our new generation of Americans on the proper respect of the flag and the proper way to retire a worn flag,” Coon said.