Coming between the American flag-laden holidays Memorial Day and July 4, the June 14 observance of Flag Day is often an afterthought.

But not in cities such as Quincy, Mass., which has hosted a Flag Day parade since 1952, or at annual smaller events like those taking place in Portsmouth today and other locations around the Seacoast.

FLAG DAY EVENTS

In Portsmouth, the Elks Lodge 97 at 500 Jones Ave., will have a Flag Day ceremony at 11 a.m. today.

Later, at 5 p.m. at American Legion Post 6 at 96 Islington St., there will be a flag retirement ceremony.

In Hampton, the annual ceremonial flag burning will be held today at 6 p.m. at the town parking lot behind the uptown fire station 2 on Winnacunnet Road. The event is sponsored by the Hamptons' American Legion Post 35, Boy Scout Troop 177 and the Hampton Fire Department. The public is invited.



In Exeter, Boy Scout Troop 322 is holding a flag retirement ceremony today from 6 to 8 p.m. at Swasey Parkway. The public is invited to the event and to bring their worn, torn or soiled U.S. flags for disposal.



"Flag Day does fall at a difficult time and it's not on people's calendars," said Dour Kirkpatrick, the exalted ruler of Portsmouth Elks Lodge 97, which hosts an annual Flag Day observance that includes a narrative history of the American flag and its evolution. "It's not pushed in the schools like it should be."

Also today, at the Frank E. Booma 6 American Legion Post in Portsmouth, members will officially retire tattered and worn American flags in a ceremony that ends with the flags being burned. It's a tradition made into law by Congress in 1942 that said "when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning."

"We invite scout troops and military organizations, but mostly the turnout is only 20 to 30 people," said Frank Desper, the post commander and a retired Navy veteran. What is important about the ceremony is how the flags are passed along and small speeches about where they flew are shared, he said.

Desper, who has taken part in flag retirement ceremonies for years, still remembers the "American Flag Poem" from his retirement ceremony that included the lines:

I am the flag of the United States of America.

My name is "Old Glory." I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.

I stand watch in America's halls of justice.

I fly majestically over institutions of learning.

I stand guard with power in the world.

Look up and see me.

Flag retirement ceremonies aren't solely for Flag Day. Desper says they are a regular occurrence for organizations like the American Legion, especially when "we receive bagfuls of old flags from people."

Flag Day was officially recognized by Congress in 1949 — it was first given presidential proclamation recognition by Woodrow Wilson in 1916 — to honor the flag's adoption by the Continental Congress in 1777.

Kirkpatrick said Flag Day is important because it recognizes the flag's history and importance to the country — whether it be the iconic photo of the flag being raised in battle at Iwo Jima in 1945 or that America's national anthem was created as a homage to the flag in 1814.

"It is just a really enjoyable thing to learn the history and how people look at the flag," he said.

For one Portsmouth-based company, patriotism and flag sales continue to spike.

"We saw an increase (in flag sales and interest) after 9/11 but we've noticed there's a lot of emphasis on national flags and state flags this year," said Adele LaFrance, manager of Mainely Flags. "Maybe people are feeling more hopeful."

For the past few years, the Elks Lodge ceremony has included the unfurling of historical flags and an historical recitation of the flag by retired Marine Corps veteran Richard Shamrell of Portsmouth.

"Of course, I feel I'm pretty patriotic. The flag is an element of our country's history and how it symbolizes what we stand for," Shamrell said. "It's a fitting thing that we devote this time to."

Elks Lodges throughout the country perform Flag Day ceremonies but Shamrell admits he had been less than impressed with some of the ones he had attended before he started taking an active role.

"I felt it wasn't done very well and they kind of skimmed through the history," he said.

For his part, Shamrell has added a new piece of historical flag lore each year. One was that during the Revolutionary War some women in Portsmouth donated their finest silk clothing for the making of flags for Navy commander and hero John Paul Jones.

This year Shamrell will tell the story of the bugle call "Taps," which was created as a tribute to the fallen during the Civil War after a Union officer recovered his dying son, who had joined the opposing Confederate Army, from a battlefield.

Source : http://www.seacoastonline.com