Waterloo residents looking to ensure their old American flags are retired properly now have a convenient option right outside the VFW.

Metzger-Crook VFW Post 6504 recently received a donation from the City of Waterloo in the form of a box serving as a receptacle for the community’s tattered and torn flags.

Per Waterloo VFW Commander Mike Douglas, the box was previously used by the Waterloo Police Department as a drop-off container for unused or expired prescription medications.

It now acts as a more convenient option for folks to leave the many U.S. flags the VFW post regularly receives.

“In the past, we didn’t have a place to put it, and people would put them in a Walmart bag or some type of plastic bag, and they’d tie them to the door at the VFW, and we probably get anywhere from a half a dozen to 10 flags a week,” Douglas said.

Though ceremonies might be conducted differently depending on the number of flags being retired or where the event is taking place, a flag retirement ceremony generally involves a recognition or prayer for those tattered flags now unfit to be flown, with the first flag to be retired receiving special attention and the remaining flags, folded or otherwise, being burned over the course of the ceremony.

Douglas said local Boy Scout troops have often taken the VFW’s flags and conducted these ceremonies – though the most recent retirement ceremony on Oct. 12 was conducted in partnership with the Columbia American Legion thanks to Jim Reichert, who serves on the Honor Guard for both organizations.

“He kind of set up where we went up and it was kind of a dual ceremony with the Columbia American Legion and the Waterloo VFW,” Douglas said. “I think they did over 1,000 flags or something at that retirement ceremony.”

Douglas spoke to the overall importance of these retirement ceremonies, noting how it can instill patriotism for those scouts who participate or any citizens who simply observe.

“It just calls the attention of all the people involved,” Douglas said. “It draws their attention to the importance of our country and what our flag stands for to a lot of people… It is a symbol, and we need to take pride in it and respect it.”

The VFW commander also mentioned how pleased he is to live in a community that so respects the U.S. flag, pointing to Battlefield Flag Company as a locally and veteran-owned creator of American flags.

On the future of flag retirement ceremonies in the community, Douglas voiced his hopes to continue working with the Columbia American Legion to conduct those large events in Monroe County.

“Hopefully we can keep doing it with Columbia,” Douglas said. “It’s a good thing to do a joint project with the American Legion.”