The Star Spangled Banner, the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory — whatever you prefer to call the American Flag, there’s no doubt that it stands as one of the nation’s most enduring symbols.
Honoring that symbol and the values it represents is a time-honored tradition for communities across the country on Flag Day. Recognized nationwide every June 14 since President Woodrow Wilson issued the first Flag Day proclamation in 1916, the holiday commemorates the day the original banner of 13 stars and 13 stripes was adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777.
Now, community members looking to show their patriotism have a new way to celebrate the holiday in St. Peter. This June 14, the city of St. Peter, St. Peter Recreation and Leisure Services and American Legion Post 37 came together for the first time to honor the flag with their first public flag retirement ceremony.
Around a dozen people came to the Saturday evening ceremony at Gault Park, where local veterans disposed of unserviceable flags which had been worn and tattered by burning the red, white and blue banners in accordance with the United States Flag Code.
While the American Legion Post 37 has retired flags in the past in recognition of Flag Day, Post Member Dave Johnson said the organization hasn’t had a formal, public ceremony for the community to gather and recognize the flag until now. The event took shape when Johnson and St. Peter Assistant Recreation Program Supervisor Gabriela Roemhildt discussed hosting a proper ceremony.
“I think a community like this and I think the population that we have needs to remember the flag and what it represents. It represents our country, and if you ask anyone who has been in the military — or ask anybody who has any patriotism in them — what’s your first thought when you think of the United States, it’s the flag and then the eagle,” said Johnson.
Outside the shelter in Gault Park, the formal ceremony began with a posting of the colors by the Post 37 Color Guard and the singing of the national anthem by Auxiliary Junior Member Rebekah Roemhildt. Mayor Shanon Nowell delivered the city’s first formal Flag Day Proclamation before remarks from Post 37 Commander Cliff Isley on the importance of honoring the nation’s flag.
”[A flag’s] intrinsic value may be trifling or great, but its real value is beyond price,” said Isley. “For it is a precious symbol of all that we have worked for and lived for and died for. A free nation of free men and women true to the faith of the past and devoted to the ideals and practice of justice, freedom and democracy.”
Post 37 Chaplain Melissa Mitchell delivered an invocation as representatives of the Legion’s four quadrants, Post Vice Commander Pat Stoterau, Jane Tate of the Auxiliary, Mike Quick of the American Legion Riders and a representative of the Sons of the American Legion presented the unserviceable flags, folded in a triangular fashion.
The four representatives marched in lockstep, carrying the three flags over to a pair of fire pits where Legion members serving as dignifed fire disposal fire monitors took the banners and unfurled them over the flames. The veterans gently laid the flags to rest in the fire while Rebekah Roemhildt sang America the Beautiful, followed by a playing of taps by Mark Roemhildt.
The ceremony was small, quiet and solemn with a little over a dozen community members present at the service. In time, Johnson expects the flag reteriment ceremony to grow as it becomes a recognized tradition in St. Peter for years to come.
”Obviously we wish there were 500-1,000 people here like Memorial Day, but it will take some time for it to grow, people reminding themselves that it’s happening,” said Johnson.
Reach Reporter Carson Hughes at 507-931-8575. ©Copyright 2022 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All Rights Reserved.
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