The Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 649 of Clermont County will hold their Fifteenth annual Flag Retirement Ceremony on June 14th at 1:00 PM in the Union Township Civic Center Amphitheater.
The annual flag retirement ceremony is presented as a public service to the community for the purpose of demonstrating proper flag etiquette and the respectful retirement of the United States Flag. The public is encouraged to bring their old or tattered flags to the ceremony for retirement. Steve Tam, founder of the VVA 649 Flag Retirement Ceremony said, “This is an excellent program for your children and grandchildren to attend to learn about flag etiquette and the proper care of the flag”.
Last year VVA 649 retired over three thousand torn and tattered flags. The ceremony will be conducted by the Saint Thomas More Scout Troop 452. Brian Thomas of 55 WKRC will be the Master of Ceremonies, and Ken Williamson, VVA Chapter President will be the Keynote Speaker.
The retirement ceremony consists of separating the colors of the flag from the field of stars in preparation for retirement. The scouts will explain the meaning of each stripe and the field of stars and explain why the flag is retired in this manner. Later, the ashes will be buried in a pre-designated burial site. Only one flag will be retired at this ceremony with the remaining flags retired later.
The first ten people who bring a flag to be retired will receive a free 3 foot by 5-foot flag at the end of the ceremony. The flags were donated by the Amelia Knights of Columbus.
The Union Township Civic Center Amphitheater is located at 4350 Aicholtz Road, Clermont County, Ohio. If you can’t attend the ceremony, you may drop off flags for retirement at the following locations: Union Township Civic Center, Everything Bagels in Eastgate, all Union Twp Fire Stations, and the Clermont County Veterans Service Office in Batavia.
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