Flag Etiquette: Displaying Old Glory Properly In Geneva

GENEVA, IL—As more-traditional Memorial Day services to honor those who have died while serving in the military return in 2021, so do the reminders of the proper ways to display the Stars and Stripes in Geneva and throughout America.

The American flag on Memorial Day — which falls on Monday, May 31, this year — should at first be flown at half-staff, much like at other times of national mourning.

The U.S. flag code is specific about how it should be raised and lowered, and for how long it should remain lowered during the day.

On Memorial Day, the flag should be briskly raised to the peak and remain there for an instant before it is slowly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains until noon. Then the flag is briskly hoisted to the peak again, where Old Glory remains until sunset, when it is slowly lowered.

It’s an important piece of symbolism. Until noon, the flag flies at half-staff as a memorial for the nation’s military war dead; for the rest of the day, it flies full and high in a salute to living veterans.

The tradition predates the 20th century, National Flag Foundation Executive Director Clark Rogers told Live Science. “For the nation lives, and the flag is a symbol of illumination,” he said in explaining how the noon flag-raising symbolizes the perseverance of the nation in the face of loss.

At parades, the flag should be “suspended vertically with the union (blue field of stars) to the north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and south street,” the flag code states. It should only be displayed on floats if on a staff, and “should not be draped over the hood, top, sides or back of a vehicle or of a railroad train or a boat,” according to the code.

“When the flag is displayed on a motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.”

Observing proper etiquette is equally important at other Memorial Day services at cemeteries and other venues. When the flag is hoisted:

For flags that are mounted from the front of a home, window or balcony, a black crepe streamer can be affixed to the staff immediately below the flag’s spearhead — the golden ball or spear-shaped ornament at the top of the staff, according to media mogul Martha Stewart. On a standard-size flag, the crepe should be no wider than one foot.

In windows or on walls, the flag needs to be displayed with the union stars to the flag’s own right, or the left of the observer, according to the flag code.

In all cases, the flag needs to be in pristine condition and isn’t tattered and torn, and that its red and white bars and the union (the blue field of stars) are bright and vibrant. If the flag is no longer suitable for display, dispose of it properly, preferably in a ceremonial burning. American Legion posts and other veterans groups often have flag-disposal ceremonies.

If displayed on a flagpole, the flag code says, Old Glory must be the highest one raised among other flags, with only one exception. During church services for Navy personnel conducted by naval chaplains at sea, the church pennant may be flown above the flag.