Veterans retire tattered flags during ceremony

By KEVIN LIMITI • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

OTSEGO — As part of a way of respectfully destroying old flags that are no longer serviceable, veterans from the local Cooperstown VFW and American Legion held a ceremony at the Cooperstown Sportsmen’s Association just north of Cooperstown on Saturday, July 3, where they burned more than 1,600 flags,.

VFW Commander Floyd Bourne and American Legion Commander Bob Crawford led the ceremony which was followed by a gun salute and the playing of Taps on the bugle.

Bourne said the burning of the flags was a way to “consecrate to ashes” and although flag burning has a negative connotation, this is actually the correct way to dispose of flags, according to the United States Flag Code.

“We shall retire them with the respect they deserve,” Crawford said.

“We thank God for this country and our flag and for the liberty for which it stands,” Bourne said.

Jay Deitchman and his son Jonathan Deitchman, from Scout BSA Troop 168 in Worcester, came to help with the flag retirement. Deitchman said the retirement of the flags was something that was important to them. They said that normally they would’ve done this earlier during a scout camp, but because of COVID it got pushed back.

“It’s very important and it’s an honor to be a part of it,” Deitchman said. “It’s something most people don’t know about. A lot of people just toss them when they get old. It’s something that means a lot to us.”

Normally, flags are retired on Flag Day but because of COVID restrictions, the ceremony was pushed back. Bourne said the ceremony was also abridged because of the pandemic restrictions being in place when the ceremony was being planned.