Letters to the editor

Please check your flag Memorial Day is on May 25. It is a day that many Americans fly their American flag. There are other patriotic holidays when flying the American flag is appropriate and traditional. Flag Day is June 14. Independence Day is July 4, and Labor Day is Sept. 7. Many patriotic citizens and businesses as well as government buildings and offices display the flag every day and night. Sadly, many times, the flag is hoisted and left to hang for months and sometimes years on end. The flag is tattered, faded, shredded and sometimes there is so little left on the pole that it is hard to recognize. Please take a minute and go outside to look at your flag. If it is in bad condition, take it down! According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington. D.C. 20420: "When the flag is worn out or otherwise no longer a fitting emblem for display, it should be destroyed in a fitting way, preferably by burning." There is a specific ceremony for burning a flag that is no longer fit for display. Most American Legion posts hold a flag burning ceremony yearly, usually in the fall. Check with your local American Legion post. Members of the Legion family: Legion members, Auxiliary members and Sons of the Legion members will take flags that are unfit for display. You may give your unusable flags to any of these people. Additionally, you may purchase a new American-made American flag from any Legion member. Let's continue to fly our American flag with pride, but make sure it is in respectable condition. Paula Karr Attica