When Burning the Flag is Patriotic

One of the on record felt even hotter to a troop of Boy Scouts who retired several flags in the parking lot of the .

While flag burning remains a highly controversial form of protest, flag retiring is an "honorable way to dispose of the flags," said Dylan Ferris, an 11th grade student at who led the ceremony.

Members of Troop 130, joined by Assistant Scout Master Chris Gagliardi, cut up one of the largest flags, stripe by stripe, before dropping armloads of red, white and blue into a barrel bonfire. After stepping away from the sweltering heat, boys saluted the flag's ashes.

Other smaller flags, folded tightly before the ceremony, were held close to the chest of each scout before they were dropped into the fire.

"It's always emotional to retire a flag because you're taught to never destroy or harm the flag," Ferris said.

War veterans and American Legion members stood under a shaded entryway watching the ceremony, which also retired a POW-MIA flag.

"I think it was very geniune how they handled the flag," said longtime Democratic State Sen. Kathy Klausmeier. "They were so sensitive to never let the flag touch the ground."

Perry Hall, home to many veterans, is a highly patriotic area, Klausmeier said.

Legion membership has aged and shrunk in recent years, said Auxiliary President Sharon Holt, but the Scouts give her hope for the future.

"It's important that we had the young people here. They're going to continue this," Holt said.