On Sunday the West End Memorial American Post 927 held a ceremony for the unserviceable flags.

The very first flag burning ceremony for tattered and worn flags took place in 1937, after the resolution No. 440 passed at the 19th National Convention of The American Legion in New York.

“The purpose of the American Legion in adopting a the ceremony was to encourage proper respect for the Flag of the United States and to provide for disposal of unserviceable American Flags in a dignified manner,” Legion Post Commander, Danny Insalata said.

The ceremony started with a prayer from the post Chaplain, Eileen McGuire began her prayer, reminding everyone we are a free country and we can fly the American Flag and we have liberty.

The colors are separated before burning the flags. The white of the flag is burned first, red, and blue follow. The white stands for “purity and innocence.” Red stands for “valor” and blue represents the United States’ “vigilance, perseverance, and justice.”

Along with help from Cub Scout Pack 102, and Boy Scout Pack 102, the mountain of flags that had long served in front of schools, churches, and government buildings, it wasn’t long before the ceremony was over.