ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – Military veterans working in the St. Charles County government spent Wednesday collecting used or damaged American flags.
The Veterans Best Practices Working Group held a drive-by collection event at the corner of Monroe and North Second streets.
“We will collect them, and then we take them to the AMVETS in St. Peters. And in September, they do an actual flag retirement ceremony,” said Dennis Wiss, manager of the St. Charles County Airport.
The group said it’s a way to respect and honor the flag, instead of tossing it in the trash.
“They have a color guard, they play Taps, they have a 21-gun salute. And then they retire the flags by burning them and then the ashes are buried at a plot at the AMVETS,” Wiss said.
The group has collected more than 9,500 flags since its establishment in 2017.
Wiss said they’ve collected more than 300 flags so far this year. That means they’ve reached their goal of collecting more than 10,000 flags since they began six years ago.
Army veteran Stacey Rafferty has been a Public Health Educator with St. Charles County for six months. When Rafferty first started, she was told about the group’s efforts to respectfully dispose of flags.
“I’m glad that they’re doing something with them that is proper. I really hate to see the flag disrespected in any way – for people to just throw it away, she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a cloth flag, a giant flag, or a little flag; it shouldn’t be put in the garbage.”
You can still drop off your flags at flag collection boxes outside the St. Charles County Administration Building and at Veterans Tribute Park.