Stores educating people on proper flag etiquette

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

If that tattered and faded American flag is still flapping outside your house or on the antenna of your car, Sam's Club and Wal-Mart stores on O'ahu are making it easier for people to get rid of that worn Old Glory.

The stores set up tables at their entrances yesterday for customers who want to drop off their deteriorated American flags and pick up a free brochure explaining the proper etiquette for displaying a flag as part of a national flag disposal program until July 15.

"We noticed that our customers are highly interested in purchasing patriotic merchandise," said Wal-Mart Inc. spokeswoman Karen Burk.

"So, by providing our customers with information on how to display an American flag and a place to properly dispose their flags, our customers can feel confident that they are doing things respectfully."

Sam's Club business manager Richard Landford said the store is participating in the program because it wants to educate people about flag etiquette. "We were concerned that individuals would just dispose their flags when they see them getting old, and not feel any importance," Landford said. "Rather than just throwing it out, they have this other alternative."

Members from the state's Veterans of Foreign Wars will pick up the flags from the stores and properly burn them in a dignified and private ceremony, said

Norbert Enos, state quarter master for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

A flag that is faded, shredded, ripped or stained should be burned in a private location, according to the National Flag Foundation. "There are a lot of worn flags on the islands," Enos said. "And one could dispose the flags themselves, but most people don't have the facilities to burn the flags properly."

But some O'ahu flag owners simply do not know any better, especially those who put up flags after Sept. 11, said Bernard Lee, an adjutant for the American Legion in Hawai'i.

"People don't realize that a flag is not serviceable when you can see the corners are ripped or it looks faded," Lee said.

"In fact, since 9/11 a lot of people have been placing it on the antenna of their cars, and it's all ripped. They have that patriotic thing about placing the flag, but a lot of people are not aware of the etiquette."

Lee said the American flag should not be seen as a simple decoration.

"The flag is actually a symbol of our nation," he said. "It should represent our freedoms and rights and our citizenship. The flag is supposedly a living symbol of a living country."

Reach Shayna Coleon at scoleon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8004.