By Mike Drake
The Veteran’s Club held a flag retirement ceremony Nov. 10 outside the Pirate Union Building as part of their weeklong event honoring veterans. Veterans’ week was Nov. 7-14.
“A flag is deemed unserviceable when it becomes faded, weather worn or when it’s torn and tattered,” said P.C. Veterans Navigator Jerrod Brown. “This is a way to show people how to treat a flag with respect. Our flag is one of the most dis-
played and recognized symbols in the world.”
Brown explained the origin of flag retirement, “Back during the Revolutionary war, when we were fighting for our independence from England, the flag was a representative of our spirit on the battlefield. Our original flag was constantly being dropped, torn, and picked up yet it went right back into battle.
“Afterward, when the flag was re- tired, generals would cut small portions of the flag to have as a keepsake.”
“What we want to do for Peninsula College is take the old flag down, honor it, put a new one up,” Brown continued. “We want to show staff and students what an official flag retirement ceremony is in- stead of just taking it down one night and a new one just appears.”
“The military flag retirement ceremony takes over an hour,” he said.
Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday observed annually on November 11, that honors military veterans; that is, persons who served in
the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I; major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was re- named Veterans Day in 1954.