American flags are flying high on the island

• American Legion Post 229 was founded on Padre Island two years ago.
• This year is their first year participating in KRIS 6 News Flag for a Flag program.
• The Islander Post is partnering with Boy Scout Troop 949 to properly retire the old American flags on Flag Day, Fri. June, 14.

This year marks KRIS 6 News' 3rd annual Flag for a Flag exchange program. However, it's the first year that American Legion Post 229 on the island is participating in it. On Wednesday, June 12, people could exchange worn, torn, and damaged American flags for a brand new, free 3x5 American flag at Hardknocks Sports Grill on the island.

“The American Flag to me is a reminder of the freedoms we enjoy. And the price that was paid for those freedoms," Kenneth Ames, American Legion Post 229 Public Affairs Officer said.

Kenneth Ames is just one of the members of American Legion Post 229 who was eager to bring Flag for a Flag to the island.

“I was in the United States Army from 1992 to 1997. I was a military police officer and I was stationed in Berlin, Germany, and then at Fort Carson, Colorado. Definitely made me who I am today, a lot of life changes in the military," Ames said.

American Legion Post 229 exchanged flags all day on Wednesday. They started to run out of their initial batch of 100 flags until our KRIS 6 News team delivered 100 more flags.

"It’s just really important to us to help keep people being mindful of what the military has done for everyone and and, you know, patriotism through events like Flag for a Flag," Ames said.

The American Legion is not the only group on the island that is passionate about properly retiring the old and worn American flags. They're partnering with Boy Scout Troop 949 on the island for a special flag retirement burning ceremony on the beach on Flag Day, June 14.

“The flag retirement ceremony is a great opportunity to teach the young men of Boy Scout Troop 949 from Padre Island to understand what it means to give back to the community," John Hale, Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 949 said.

The American Legion Post 229 members enjoy being mentors for the young men in Boy Scout Troop 949.

“For us to be able to help them out and them to work on this retirement ceremony with us, is just a great step for both of us," Ames said.

The flag retirement ceremony will take place on the beach in front of the Windward parking lot on the island at 8:00pm.

"It'll be the first time on the island that we've done this," Hale said. "It really gets our boys out of their comfort zone and that's where they learn a ton and we're excited about that. Additionally, the Boy Scouts will be asked to share different testimonies and even give them an opportunity through a public setting to share what it means to them to be a part of this event."

The members of the American Legion Post 229 hope to continue their new tradition of being involved in KRIS 6 News Flag for a Flag for years to come.

“The reason we started our chapter two years ago is because we have a very large veteran population here on the island. And just didn’t really have a lot of representation. And since we started from the very get-go, the island has been just great,” Ames said.

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