Photos by Sam McIntosh.

Plumes of smoke rose into the air at Marr Park Friday evening as a local Boy Scout troop honored the end of retired American flags.

Boy Scout Troop 242 of Washington and community members solemnly burned 350 retired flags that were collected in the community. Scoutmaster Justin Sipes explains why they burned the flags, “It’s the correct way of disposing an American flag, by burning it you completely destroy it and then you bury the flags themselves. But what we’re going to do is we’re going to fish the grommets that hold up the flag on the flagpole, and then we’re going to bury those at Eagle Scout projects that we’ve done throughout the community here in Washington.”

The troop plans on burying some of the grommets with scout Aaron Harvey’s tree planting project at the Schmitter Heritage Area. Prayers were read as the scouts ceremoniously folded and cut the first retired flag, and then burned the remainder of the flags with it. Troop 242 Committee Chair Kathy Fields shares the significance the ceremony had, “For these boys it shows them the end of respect to the American flag. They learn the beginning of it when they’re in school, some schools still say the pledge. They see the flag all the time we do the flag ceremony at every meeting. But they don’t see the end of the flag and tonight is the end of the flag for the people that have given them to us to retire.”

The troop will also be celebrating the American flag with a presentation this Flag Day during Thursday Night Live in downtown Washington.