BY NOAH CLARK
Staff Writer
Fifth-grade students in Lenoir County recently were given a lesson in the history and how to honor their nation’s flag.
According to pbs.org, on June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed an act to establish an official flag for the new nation. The first flag consisted of 13 stripes, alternating between red and white, with white stars in a blue field representing the 13 states. Today, the flag maintains 13 stripes, but now had 50 stars, marking the 50 states currently in the country.
Jim Rouse and Buddy Jones, members of American Legion Post 504 who are both Vietnam veterans, visited nine elementary schools in Lenoir County during the past two weeks to give presentations to Fifth-graders about flag etiquette. The last school the pair spoke to was Southeast Elementary School on Friday.
Rouse and Jones spoke to students about different ways to honor the flag. They also gave students a brief history of the flag and actions taken by members of the armed forces to defend their freedoms.
Rouse said he was glad to have the opportunity to speak with students.
“It’s a chance for us to try to give back something and let students know how we feel about the flag. We want kids to understand how many people died to have that flag hanging up.
Caressa Smythe, a counselor at Southeast, said the presentation was good for the students.
“I think it was very encouraging to the students. I saw that a lot of them were interested, and it was very educational.”
Qwonrice Cole, 10, said he enjoyed the presentation.
“I learned a lot about the flag and fighting for your country,” he said.
Joequon Wilson, 11, said he learned a lot about the changes made to the flag over the years.
“I didn’t know about how the number of stars on the flag changed over time. I always thought there were 50. I thank the guys for that, because I didn’t know the flag was that important,” he said.
Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Noah.Clark@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @nclark763.
Flag etiquette tips
The flag should be lighted at all times, either by sunlight or by an appropriate light source.
The flag should be flown in fair weather, unless the flag is designed for inclement weather use.
The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. It is flown upside down only as a distress signal.
The flag should not be used for any decoration in general. Bunting of blue, white and red stripes is available for these purposes. The blue stripe of the bunting should be on the top.
The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, fireman, policeman and members of patriotic organizations.
The flag should never have any mark, insignia, letter, word, number, figure, or drawing of any kind placed on it, or attached to it.
The flag should never be used for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.
When the flag is lowered, no part of it should touch the ground or any other object; it should be received by waiting hands and arms. To store the flag it should be folded neatly and ceremoniously.
The flag should be cleaned and mended when necessary.
When a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to serve as a symbol of our country, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.
Source: http://www.usa-flag-site.org/etiquette.shtml