|
Flag Etiquette |
|
|
The Pledge of Allegiance I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE |
|
|
When Displayed Over a Street  |
The Flag should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street, or to the east in a north and south street. |
| The Flag of the United States should be on the right (the Flag's own right), and its staff should be in front of the staff of the other Flag. |
When Displayed Against a Wall with Crossed Staffs with Another Flag  |
|
When Flown at Half-Staff  |
The Flag should be raised to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The Flag should again be raised to the peak before it is lowered at the end of the day. |
| The United States Flag should always be at the peak. |
When Other Flags are Flown From the Same Halyard
|
|
When Suspended Over a Sidewalk  |
From a rope extending from a house to a pole at the edge of the sidewalk, the Flag should be hoisted out, union first, from the building. |
| The union of the Flag should be placed at the peak of the staff unless the Flag is at half-staff. |
When Displaying the Flag from a Staff Projecting from a Building  |
|
When Used to Cover a Casket  |
The Flag should be placed so that the union is at the head and over the shoulder. The Flag should not be lowered into the grave or be allowed to touch the ground |
| When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the Flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a window, the Flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street. |
When Displayed Flat Against a Wall  |
|
When Carried in a Procession  |
With another Flag or Flags, the United States Flag should be either on the marching right (the Flag's own right) or, if there is a line of other Flags, in front of the center of that line. |
| The Flag of the United States should be in the center and the highest point in the group. |
When a Number of State Flags, Flags of Localities or Pennanats of Societies are Grouped and Displayed from Staffs  |
|
When Flags of Two or More Nations are Displayed  |
They are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The Flags should be of approximately equal size. In times of peace, international usage dictates displaying one nation's Flag equally to that of another. |
|
When displayed from a staff in a church or public auditorium, the Flag of the United States of America should hold the position of superior prominence, in advance of the audience, and in the position of honor at the speaker's right as he faces the audience. Any other flag so displayed should be placed on the left of the speaker or to the right of the audience.
If displayed on the floor of the
church or public auditorium, on a level with the congregation or
audience the Flag should be at the
congregation's or audience's right as they face the speaker. |
When Displayed from a Staff in a Church or a Public Auditorium on a Speaker's Platform or on the floor of a Church or a Public Auditorium  |
|
When Unveiling a Statue or Monument  |
The Flag should form a distinctive feature of the ceremony, but it should never be used as the covering for the statue or monument. |
|
After you have lowered your Flag, take the greatest care that no part of it touches the ground, not anything beneath it. To store your Flag fold it into the cocked hat design. To attain the cocked hat design, fold your Flag width-wise twice, leaving the union exposed. Now begin the cocked hat. Beginning with the striped end and folding into the union, fold the Flag into triangles. Take the left hand striped corner and fold it on a diagonal to your right hand. Then fold it straight up. Repeat this process until only the union is exposed, leaving the cocked hat. Take the remaining fold and tuck it inside the folds to hold your Flag tightly. Store your Flag in its original
box or carton and keep it free from dampness, dust and dirt. |
Proper Folding and Care of the Flag
|
|
Improper use of Flags  |
Never use them for decorations. Red-white-blue striped bunting is designed for this use. |
|
Flying the Flag 24 Hours The Flag may be flown twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness. The Flag Rules offer no additional guidance on this question. We interpret this to mean that there is either a light directly upon the Flag or that there is sufficient local lighting to make the Flag easily visible at night. |
|
|
Flag Retirement When a Flag is worn beyond
repair, it should be retired in a dignified manner. The most
accepted manner is to cut the blue field of stars from the red and
white stripes, thereby rendering it no longer a Flag. The resulting
two pieces of cloth are then burned in one or two separate fires
that are used for nothing else except the retirement ceremony. The
pieces of cloth should be thoroughly burned so that nothing is left
that is recognizable as a Flag. The ashes should be scattered or
buried. In many communities, organizations like the American Legion
and Boy Scouts have ceremonies to retire Flags on June 14th - |
|
|
Days on Which to Display Your Flag The Flag should be displayed on
all days and especially |
|
|
Flag Pole Height and Flag Size Ratio Flag Pole Height Recommended Flag Size 20'
3' x 5' The aforementioned is based on Poles being properly installed, flying only one Flag that does not exceed the recommended size for the Pole. |
|
