Flag Day Celebrated with a Flag Retirement by Loudoun County's Reverend John Marks Society (RJMS) C.A.R

Flag Day is a day to honor the Flag of the United States of America. Properly retiring torn, worn or soiled flags is one way to honor our flag. Another is to remind everyone why the flag of our Nation is revered by our citizens.

The Reverend John Marks Society Children of the American Revolution holds a formal flag retirement ceremony at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial each year. They were supported by three Virginia SAR Chapters: Fairfax Resolves, Sgt Maj John Champe, and the Colonel William Grayson. DAR Chapters supporting the event were: Camron Parish, Providence, Lanes Mill and Elizabeth McIntosh Hammill.

There is a specific protocol for proper retirement of soiled, worn or torn flags. Natural fiber flags, such as those made of cotton are burned. Artificial fiber flags have the grommets or channel for a pole removed by scissors, then the star field, or canton is removed. Once the flag is dissected, the pieces are considered waste and may be disposed of in normal trash.

Participating for the Sgt Maj John Champe chapter were Barry Schwoerer and Ken Bonner. Mr. Schwoerer read "Old Glory", a summary of where the flag has flown from the Revolution through Operation Epic Fury, the war in Iran.

The Sgt Maj John Champe chapter serves Loudoun County and parts of adjacent counties. The chapter was selected as the Best Medium Sized chapter in Virginia SAR for 2025. For more information about the chapter please visit our website at: https://johnchampe.sar