Home Page
Objectives
Membership
Chapter History
Chapter Officers
Committees
Calendar of Events
Chapter Projects
Patriot Ancestors
Scholarships
NSDAR National
NSDAR Texas
American Flag
When to Fly the Flag
Links

The proper care and use of the Flag of the United States of America is the responsibility of every American citizen.

Displaying the Flag

In 1942 Congress passed a joint resolution summarizing the customs and rules for display of the U.S. flag. The basic rules are:

When flown from a pole the fly end of the flag should be able to fly freely. Do not secure it to a frame. The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.

Display the flag only during daylight in good weather. Take it down when it gets dark or if it starts to rain or snow. You may display it at night in good weather if it is lighted.

Do not let the flag touch the ground, water, buildings, or merchandise.

The flag when flown at half-staff should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. On Memorial Day, the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.

When the Flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street, or to the east in a north and south street.

When displayed on a wall, the flag's blue field (canton) should be on the left as you view it.
When displayed in a window, the flag should be displayed in the same way with the blue field to the left of the observer in the street.

When flown from a pole the fly end of the flag should be able to fly freely. Do not secure it to a frame. The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.

Display the flag only during daylight in good weather. Take it down when it gets dark or if it starts to rain or snow. You may display it at night in good weather if it is lighted.

Do not let the flag touch the ground, water, buildings, or merchandise.

The flag when flown at half-staff should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. On Memorial Day, the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.

Respecting the Flag

• The flag should not be draped on a car or podium. Instead use red, white, and blue bunting with the blue at the top.
• If the flag is used to cover a casket the canton should be placed over the left shoulder. Remove the flag before lowering the casket into the grave.
• Do not use the flag for advertising a product and do not print or embroider the flag on anything designed for temporary use and discard.
• No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform.   However, a flag patch or lapel pin may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations.  The lapel pin, being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.
• When the flag is no longer fit for duty (threadbare, faded, torn, or dirty) it should be destroyed in a dignified manner (preferably by burning).

Books on Flags and Flag Etiquette

What You Should Know about the American Flag, 2nd rev. ed. by Earl P. Williams, Jr. (Thomas Publications, Gettysburg PA, 1992) - 52 pages 5.5 x 8.5 inches, a concise history of the U.S. flag with many one-page stories of special flags, suitable to supplement grade school history classes.

Your Flag, compiled by Al Stenzel (Boy Scouts of America, Irving TX, 1986 - and likely later editions) - 64 pages 7 x 10 inches, history, use, and ceremonies for the U.S. flag and many others in U.S. history.

The Stars and Stripes, by Boelslaw and Marie-Louise D'Orange Mastai (Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth TX, 1973) - 64 pages 8.5 x 9.5 inches, a book written for the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence, giving the history of the "stars and stripes" and presenting 144 color and 157 monochrome photos of historic U.S. flags.

Flags to Color from the American Revolution (Bellerophon Books, Santa Barbara CA, 1996) - 32 pages 8.5 by 5.5 inches, a coloring book with dozens of national, militia, and naval flags, including brief notes on their creation and use. This will interest both grade schoolers and history buffs.

The Story of Our Flag, (Bellerophon Books, Santa Barbara CA, 1996) - 32 pages 8.5 x 11 inches, a coloring book with dozens of national, militia, and naval flags, including brief notes on their creation and use. This will interest both grade schoolers, high schoolers, and history buffs.

For more information on flag etiquette please refer to these web sites:

• The Cornell Univ. site which lists the U.S. Statutes - Title 36: Chap. 10 - Patriotic Customs is located at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/36/.
• Call a SAR Chapter, an American Legion post, or a Boy Scout troop when your flag is not longer fit for proud public display. The SAR ceremony is referred to on the URL http://www.sar.org/colors/retiflag.htm. The Boy Scout ceremony is found on the URL, http://www.usscouts.org/ceremony/flagret1.html.
• The American Legion's flag site is located at http://www.legion.org/flagtoc.htm. They also have a section on disposal of worn-out flags at http://www.legion.org/flagdisp.htm.

 *The DAR insignia is the property of, and is copyrighted by, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Web hyperlinks to non-DAR sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organization, or individual DAR chapters.

Contact webmaster Doris Johnstonwith changes or corrections