[cswilliaMS]

Can anyone tell me the signifigance to burying the grommets from a retired flag seperately from the flag ashes? The Retirement Ceremony gave me goose bumps, but no one can answer my question.

[Robin Hickman]

Hello, cswilliaMS !

Welcome to the USA-Flag-Site forums !

QUOTE : "Can anyone tell me the signifigance to burying the grommets from a retired flag seperately from the flag ashes? The Retirement Ceremony gave me goose bumps, but no one can answer my question."


I am unfamiliar with the "requirement" that the grommets needed to be buried separately from the Flag's ashes. Which organization or group conducted the "Flag Retirement Ceremony"?

Although the U.S. Flag Code makes no mention of a "Retirement Ceremony", there are many patriotic and/or veteran organizations that DO conduct a "ceremony" or "ritual" when "retiring" U.S. Flags. I would assume that whatever organization's "Flag Retirement Ceremony" mentions burying the grommets separately from the Flag's ashes, would also give the reason as to "why".

I would guess that it is because, unlike Flags, grommets are made of metal (usually brass) and cannot be "reduced" to "ashes". Thus, they are not part of the Flag and so they aren't buried with it's ashes.

Hope that helps.

Thank You for bringing your Flag-related question to our forums !

Robin Hickman

[NAVA1974]

Robin is correct - there are no such requirements regarding grommets (I think you should recycle the brass rather than bury it.) There's no more basis to the practice of burying the grommets separately than the idea that you have to cut the stripes from the canton before burning the parts separately. Just urban flag legends.

[Michael Coats]

As far as the United States Code, it explains in Title 36, Chapter 10 how a flag is to be retired. As for why the brass groments are separated from the ashes, when my unit retires flags, we scatter the ashes by air and it would not be a good thing to have groments involved with the ashes that are being scattered by air. I agree with the earlier responer and recycling seems a good and logical choice.

Michael Coats

[Robin Hickman]

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Hi, Michael !

Welcome to the USA-Flag-Site Forums !

Robin Hickman
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[Peter Ansoff]

As far as the United States Code, it explains in Title 36, Chapter 10 how a flag is to be retired.

Actually, the flag-code portions of the USC were moved from Title 36 to Title 4 in 1998. The correct reference is now Title 4, Chapter 1, paragraph 8k. The pre-1998 references still show up in a lot of places, even including some of the military services' flag regulations. They'll get it sorted out eventually!

Peter Ansoff

[Robin Hickman]

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Flag Code moved from Title 36 to Title 4 back in 1998?

Why, that was CLEAR BACK in the LAST MILLENIUM !!!

And it's NOT just military services' Flag regulatios that are a "little behind the times". There are many (WAY too many!) websites that carry some or all of the "old" (pre-1998 move) Flag Code too.

You would be surprised at how many "flag-related" websites show the "old" listings of "Days To Fly The FLAG" that completely omit "Patriot Day" (September 11th - Half-Staff) !!!

Robin "Say What?" Hickman
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