EVENT: American Legion Post 27 Inviting Public To Help Retire American Flags on Flag Day, June 14th
Nora Kappelman, 5, left, and sister Sophia Kappelman, 9, wait in line to dispose of unserviceable flags during an American Legion Post 27 ceremony on Flag Day in Missoula, MT 2020. Photo by Tommy Martino/The American Legion
The American Legion Post 27, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Missoula Civil Air Patrol are inviting the public to the American Legion Open Field to retire hundreds of unserviceable American and POW-MIA flags on Monday, June 14th.
The event starts at 2pm with an opening prayer followed by speeches delivered by members of the public and a history of the American Flag and Flag Day. In 2018, event organizer Susan Campbell Reneau reported retiring over 500 flags and believes this years Flag Day ceremony could last in excess of 2 hours.
After the speeches, the public will be asked to help retire the unserviceable flags by picking up flags and carefully handing them to Fire Marshall and Army veteran, John Angwin. Angwin will then lay the flags to rest in the ceremonial flames.
Members of the public are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs, their families, and their unserviceable American and POW-MIA flags. The American Legion Open Field is located north of the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery on Tower Road.
Check out the photos taken by Tommy Martino for The American Legion at the Flag Day ceremony in 2020.
