The Salem Elks Lodge continued its Flag Day celebration on Saturday.
The event includes the proper destruction of flags that need to be retired.
The Elks Mike Hooe led the program.
“The significance is respect for the flag and honoring the flag and what it stands for,” Hooe said. “These days there’s a lot of public discourse and differences of opinions and ways to express that. At the end of the day, this is all about us being all Americans and all under that one flag. Just to learn to respect that and respect each other’s opinions.
Hooe says the program began about ten years ago when a onetime program was held to properly dispose of tattered flags. More than 600 flags were disposed of the first year and it was decided to continue the program on a yearly basis. The Boy and Girl Scouts and now Trail Life Troops have been part of the ceremony from the beginning.
“All the flags that come in, whether they’re folded or not, are unfolded and refolded by the Trail Life boys and girls. They even take the large interstate flags, they get the whole troop together, take them out there, and they fold those flags without that flag ever touching the ground. It’s really something interesting to see.
There were 375 US Flags, 1 Air Force Flag, 10 KIA/MIA Flags, 4 Christian Flags and 2 Illinois Flags that were disposed of properly this year.

Photo by Bruce Kropp.