I have had for a number of years a U.S. flag that was on the coffin of someone with tenuous familial ties. I have taken good care of it, placing it in a triangular display case and keeping in an area where it will not get damaged. The flag holds no sentimentality to me aside from it being on the coffin of a veteran.
I would like to get rid of it but that side of the family tree is dead and it doesn’t seem right to simply drop it off at the local VFW. At some point that flag was removed from the coffin, carefully folded and presented to someone “on behalf of a grateful nation” and to me it would be wrong to just drop it off somewhere to be rid of it. I have considered giving it to the VFW post in the town where the person lived but in the event they don’t want it I’m not sure what to do next.
If anyone has any ideas I would like to hear them. If it helps the person was a WWI veteran.
Does the person’s elementary / high school exist? Did the person do anything that was recognized as above and beyond? Otherwise VFW / American Legion is all I can think of.
VFW, American Legion, Boy Scouts, will all take the flag from you and treat it with the respect and honor it deserves. American Legion is often called out to provide Honors and Honor Guard for military funerals of veterans, it could be used in that regard, maybe. The Boy Scouts will likely [del]dispose of[/del] retire the flag in the proper fashion and ceremony. I don’t know what the VFW would do with it.
Your other option is to take it out on Flag Day, the 4th of July, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day and display it{meaning to hang or drape or fly it in the proper fashion}. Many times a regulation flag (eyelets on the ‘fly’)is substituted for Funeral Flag (no eyelets on the ‘fly’ and I know there are proper names for these things, can’t recall them now) My mom does that with my brother’s flag that was presented to her at his funeral.
You might donate it to the historical museum in the town or county of origin of the person whose coffin it honored. Let them deal with it, and assume that you have honored it appropriately…
There is probably a National Guard or Reserve post in your town. They fly a flag every day, and need to have one. If you give it to them, and tell them you think the veteran would like it to be flown until it is worn out, then retired, they’ll probably use it.
If there isn’t a Guard or Reserve, then try a police station.
If you want someone who will put it on permanent display, try the UK or Canadian consulate. They may be able to connect the flag with some school or library that would like it for a display on WWI, you know, a small town that would love to have a token symbol of the US veterans who served.
But honestly, the VFW in the guy’s hometown might love to have it.
If nobody or no group can be found that wants it, it can be honorably destroyed, although that seems a shame for such a flag as you have kept.
I know that the local American Legion has an annual flag burning ceremony, at which worn or damaged flags are disposed of. I once had such a flag and dropped it off, and they said they had storage until the ceremony.
Yeah, my American Legion Post does that in conjunction with the local Boy Scout Troop. We store them, then once a year we all go have a retirement ceremony together and let the youngsters build and light the pyre. We alternate between flags as to who does the actual retiring of a flag.
Lots of WWI vets died in the 80s, and some in the 90s, even some in the 21st century. They honor you with the current flag, not the one you fought under.
There have been some good suggestions in this thread but I really like this one. I’m going to reach out to my old Army Reserve unit and see if they’ll accept it. Provided the flag has eyelets for hanging.