WHITEFISH – The cold snap working its way into the Flathead didn’t stop the students at Whitefish Christian Academy from getting an education in the proper respect and disposal of the American flag on Tuesday.
The school’s fourth grade class led the other students, along with parents, teachers, and community members, in a flag-retirement ceremony to honor Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
The class is in charge of raising and lowering the flag each day, as well as ensuring it is folded properly. Retired Marine Corps officer Joe Coco taught the students how to raise and lower the flag at the proper speeds, and also taught them about proper retirement of a flag that is no longer fit for service.
As part of the ceremony, fourth grader Kiefer Adams taught the rest of the school about retiring worn, torn, faded or badly soiled flags with “dignity and respect.”
The flags are not dropped into the flames whole, but rather cut with scissors or shears into six pieces. The blue part of the flag with the stars is kept whole, to represent the indivisibility of the union.
Three pieces are burned at a time, Adams said, the first three representing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the second set of three representing Americans’ duty to God, others, and themselves.
Adams also reminded the students about the importance of remembering veterans who have served the country.
“By their gift of service, we have been able to live free,” he said.
Cameron Ross read an essay about appreciating veterans for their service, noting that veterans put others ahead of themselves.
To the beat of a snare drum, the fourth graders dropped the pieces of flags into the flames, the fabric wrinkling and shrinking in the heat.
It was a solemn ceremony, a great credit to the young students and the teachers who kept them focused despite the obvious distractions of fire and the biting wind. A brief interlude of coughing erupted when the first grade class started getting smoked out, but it was cleared up by moving the students upwind.
By the end of the half-hour event, multiple flags had been retired, and the snowsuit-clad students were getting into the rhythm of the process. Headmaster Todd Kotila reminded the students to thank veterans they might know, and led the assembly in a cheer for service members.
The younger students started to head inside out of the cold, and the parking lot started to fill with parents picking up their children after school.
The flames continued to burn until all of the fabric was consumed, and all that remained was ash and smoke.