LIHUE — Veteran Donald Rapozo said Flag Day is every day at his home.
“I fly my flag every day,” Rapozo said. “People often question why I don’t do half-staff, but I tell them the flag is attached to the pole, which doesn’t allow for half staff. It’s always flying — every day.”
Rapozo joined other veterans and Robin Sanchez, commander of the American Legion, Post 54, in the annual Flag Day ceremony at the Kauai Veterans Center.
“There are a lot of people who don’t know about this holiday,” Sanchez. “Today, we have the Boy Scouts of America to help us. I like that because these are young men who will learn and continue to educate people about the flag.”
The United States of America traditionally celebrates July 4 as America’s birthday, but what of its flag, the most well-known and recognized symbol of the United States?
“Today we honor not only the flag of our great country, but what it symbolizes,” Sanchez said. “We are honoring freedom. We are honoring the freedom to worship as we please, to speak as we please and to vote as we please. We are honoring the hard-working men and women who have made this the greatest and most successful country. Flag Day is America’s day.”
The flag has been an inspiration on many American battlefields and provided a comforting presence to rescue workers at New York’s ground Zero and further south as it draped the west wall of the Pentagon in the days following the 9/11 attacks.
Whether a flimsy bit of printed gauze, or a beautiful banner of finest silk, Sanchez said the real value of the flag is beyond price.
“It is a symbol of our nation,” the commander of the American Legion said. “It is a precious symbol of all which we, and our comrades, have worked for, lived for and died for.”
One of the facets of the Flag Day ceremony is the retiring of flags, which are no longer capable of being a fitting emblem for display.
The US Code Title 36, Section 176 states “The Flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably burning.”
As a prelude to the retiring of more than a handful of flags, Sanchez said the flag, consisting of seven red stripes and six white stripes, together represent the original 13 colonies, which gained us liberty.
The red stripes remind us of the life blood of brave men and women who were ready to die for their country; the white stripes remind us of purity and cleanliness of purpose, thought, word and deed; the blue is for truth and justice like the eternal blue of the star-filled heavens. The stars represent the 50 sovereign states of our nation, Sanchez said.
“The flag should be treated with respect when it is flying, and it should be treated with respect when it is retired,” Sanchez said. “The American Creed states, ‘It is my duty to my country to love it, to respect its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag and to defend it against all enemies.’ Therefore, we retire flags with dignity and respect when they become worn, torn, faded or badly-soiled.”
Jim Jung, serving as the chaplain for the retirement, said despite being asked to step into the position at a late hour, did research on a benediction prayer.
“Almighty God, Captain of all hosts and Commander over all, we thank thee for our country and its flag and for the liberty for which it stands,” Jung said. “To clean and purging flames, we commit these flags, worn out in worthy service. As they yield their substance to the fire, may their holy light spread over us and bring to our hearts, renewed devotion to God and country.”
Jung said this was the first time he experienced the flag retirement ceremony, noting the first, and only time, he saw a flag burn was in Greece where the flag and an effigy of an American president was being burned in protest.
A lone Girl Scout, Jelacia Peralta of Girl Scout Troop 537, joined with Boys Scouts from Boy Scout Troops 83 and 133 in assisting Sanchez and other veterans with the retirement protocol.
“The flag is both a rallying symbol to Americans and a sign of defiance to her enemies,” Sanchez said. “It was, after all, following the bombardment at Fort McHenry that Francis Scott Key famously observed ‘that our flag was still there.’ And, with the help of American patriots, that flag will continue to fly forever.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
