MOLINE, Illinois-- Moline American Legion Post 246 celebrated Wednesday, Flag Day, with a flag retirement ceremony.
After a playing of the National Anthem, taps, and a 21-gun salute, a single, folded flag was retired first followed by more than 300 remaining flags that had been collected the past year at designated outlets in the Quad Cities.
Flames engulfed each and every flag. That's the proper way to retire America's symbol.
"You need to burn it," Nick Huyten, a member of the American Legion Post 246's Honor Guard, explained. "You can't just throw it in the garbage, you can't just step on it. No, you burn the flag."
American Legion Post 246 keeps a flag drop box in the back of their parking lot year-round. The legion is located at 1623 15th Street in Moline.