Facts About the American Flag

Happy Flag Day to all our Patch readers. In honor of this special day, today we present five facts about the American flag:

1. The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing, unless it is an ensign responding to a salute from the ship of a foreign nation.
2. The flag should never be allowed to touch the ground. It is a common myth that a flag that touches the ground or becomes soiled must be burned.
3. The common method of disposal of a tattered flag is burning. American Legion halls commonly hold flag burnings on this day.
4. The flag may be flown upside down as a signal of distress.
5. One of the most commonly ignored statutes of the Flag Code states that “the flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding or drapery. It should also not be used as advertising and should not be “embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use.”