Flag retirement ceremony set for May 8

Dear Editor:
Spring is here and It’s time to spruce up your homes and your businesses outdoors. And that includes replacing your flags if they are faded, ragged or unsightly. The Williams-Burgess Post #68 of the American Legion has scheduled its annual Flag Retirement Ceremony in conjunction with the Manning High School Jr. ROTC for Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 7 p.m. The respectful disposal of American and state flags will take place at the American Legion building on Sunset Drive in Manning.

Bring in your used flags prior to that date and deposit them in the appropriately-marked receptacle located near the front entrance of the Manning Post Office or give them to a member of the Post.

We encourage citizens to fly the flag to show pride in our country, as well as support for our military all around the world. Many from Clarendon County are currently serving proudly with the active duty or National Guard units in various locations to protect us from tyranny that threatens our security and freedom.

Note American financier E.F. Hutton wrote: “The flag is many things. It is a mark of identification of ships at sea and armies in the field. It is a means of communication. When you see our flag in front of a home, it says for all the world to read, ‘Here lives a family that is American in spirit as well as in name.’ The flag is a mirror, reflecting to each person his own ideals and dreams. It is a history. It’s 13 stripes and 50 stars embrace a record written greatly during these years since 1776. It is a mark of pride in a great word – ‘American.’ It is an aspiration of what small children want their lives to be. It is a memory at the end of life of all that life has been. It is a ribbon honor for those who have served it well – in peace and in war. It is a warning not to detour from the long road that has brought our country and its people to a degree of prosperity and happiness never even approached under any other banner.”

Please mark your calendars for May 8 to respectfully dispose of your flags that are in need of retirement.

Sincerely,
George E. Callaway
Manning, S.C.