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Scout Builds Fire Pit for Retiring National Flags

The Boy Scouts of America Handbook states: “A national flag that is worn beyond repair may be burned in a fire. The ceremony should be conducted with dignity and respect and the flag burned completely to ashes.” 

Unfortunately, many people opt to throw a worn national flag in the trash, rather than giving it to the Boy Scouts of America for proper retirement. Scout Hunter B. from the Boy Scouts of America Susquehanna Council is trying to make sure that the people in his community of Middleburg have a good option available to them for the proper retirement of national flags.

Scout Builds Fire Pit for Retiring National Flags
Scout Hunter B. is building a fire pit for retiring national flags. (photo: Justin Engle/The Daily Item)

For his Eagle Scout project, Hunter is building a permanent fire pit that will be used specifically to retire worn national flags. He also has a goal to collect 100 worn national flags to help get the process going in his community.

“There are a lot of flags in our area, and I realized there was no place to properly burn them,” said Hunter. “I thought to myself, ‘Why not build it?’”

The permanent stone fire pit will be installed on the local VFW post property in the community, which will be a fitting location for the retirement of worn national flags.

Collection boxes for worn national flags are being placed at multiple strategic locations throughout the community, making it easy for people to deposit their flags.

Once the stone fire pit is constructed, local Scout units plan to hold retirement ceremonies every two years.

To learn more about Hunter’s Eagle Scout project, be sure to read the full article in The Daily Item.

For more details on proper retirement of worn national flags, read “Everything a Scout Should Know About U.S. Flag Retirement.”

To learn more about the positive impact that Scouting can have on young people like Hunter, be sure to check out this article on the recent Tufts study, and watch this video:

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