Veterans Day Flag Ceremony at school

[Stlou 10]

My Boyscouts and Cubscouts have been asked to do a flag Ceremony at school during there Veterans Day assembly. The student body will be there plus some local veterans, teachers and staff. The ceremony will be in the school Gym. The flags will be brought in from the rear of the audience and posted in front of them. The American Flag posted to the speakers right and the state flag to the speakers left. I have two questions the first is when the flags enter the gym is it ok to split the flags up and have the American Flag brought up on the left and the State Flag on the right?? The second question is when we retrieve the flags at the end of the ceremony and the flags taken out of the gym is it ok to have Taps played. It will be a recording of a bugle player??? I know that Taps can be played at a flag lowering but was not sure if it could be played as they are taken out of the gym??? We are a new Boy Scout Troop and I just want to make sure we do this right!! The Boy scouts and the Cub scouts as well as the Girl scouts will be involved in the bringing in of the Flags!!!

[clemlaw 55]

Ah, yes, this is always the subject of untold confusion.

 

The short answer is that, no, the U.S. flag should never be to the left. A quick Google for "US Flag Etiquette" brings up the following page as the first result, and from my quick perusal, it appears to be accurate:

 

http://www.usflag.org/flagetiquette.html

 

Assuming that there is a stage where the speakers will be speaking, then you have correctly determined that the flag should be to the right of the speakers on the stage, and the state flag should be to the left of the speakers. Think of the flag as being one of the speakers, so it is to the right of everyone. If the flag were on the floor at the front of the auditorium, then you could think of the flag as being a member of the audience, and it is to the right of the rest of the members of the audience.

 

However, when the flag is coming in, it's still part of the audience, so to speak, and it must be to the right of the other flag, as seen from the audience.

 

The problem, as you have figured out, is that at some point, the flag needs to change sides.

 

The easiest solution is to keep in mind that if more than one flag is in a line, then the U.S. flag should be at the front of the line. The easiest way to transition is to have the person holding the state flag pause when they reach the stairs going to the stage, and then have the U.S. flag go in front of the other flag.

 

That way, the flag is always in the correct position. It's at the right when it's coming in to the auditorium, it's in front when they go onto the stage, and it's to the right of the speakers on stage.

 

Edited to add: I'll leave my mistake there for everyone to see, but the Flag Code has been changed slightly since I was a Scout, and made a bit less confusing. The flag is displayed to the speaker's right, "on or off podium". But my advice in this particular case remains the same--the flag needs to process down the aisle to the right of the other flag, which means it will need to cross over before being posted. And the easiest way to do this is to have it go in front of the other flag when they reach the stage. (If the stage is big enough, I suppose they could also come up together, and then jointly make a U-turn on stage.)(This message has been edited by clemlaw)(This message has been edited by clemlaw)

[Stlou 10]

Thanks for your help!!! There is no stage but there is going to be a podium up front of the kids. The kids will be seated in the center of the gym so there will be an aisle on both sides. So you are saying that the American flag needs to come up to the podium on the audiences right and then crossover to the right of the podium followed by the state flag coming up on the left crossing over after the american flag?? How about Taps being played at the retrieval of the flags?? Ive always found that Taps being played is very entertaining and powerful and I think it will keep the kids attention untill the flags are removed from the gym and I believe the Veterans will like it as well!! Any thoughts on this ???

[clemlaw 55]

Yes, it turns out the podium makes no difference. I guess I should do my research _before_ writing the answer. Here's another link that goes into a little more detail:

 

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html

 

(And I hope this stuff is still to be found in the Boy Scout Handbook!)

 

Yes, the U.S. flag always needs to be to the right or in front of the other flag. So when walking into the gym, the person walking to the right of the other person should be carrying the U.S. flag. When it gets switched to the "other right", the easiest way to do the crossover is to have the U.S. flag go in front. Of course, you could also have the U.S. flag in front the whole time.

 

I don't see any reason why you can't play taps. It's normally played when the flag is lowered at night, but I don't see why it couldn't be played then as well.

 

I do have one suggestion, though. Instead of playing a recording of taps, it really seems a lot more appropriate to have it played live. If the troop doesn't have a bugler, since this is going to be done at a school, does the school have a band with a trumpet player who could be called upon to play it? IMHO, having a real bugle (or trumpet, which is really the same thing) is a lot more impressive than a perfect recording, even if the kid playing it misses a couple of notes.

 

 

[BartHumphries 10]

I have the color guard advance up near the audience, with the US flag in front, then stop. The US flag is brought forward, then the State/whatever flag is brought forward. Thus, the US flag is always in front and the whole right/left thing doesn't matter except for making sure the flags are planted where they're supposed to be.

[ScoutNut 147]

We usually bring the US flag up the right aisle from the back door, and the Pack/Troop/State flag up the left aisle.

 

They come together at the middle, in front of the audience (in front of the podium?). The Scouts hold the US flag in front, straight up. The other flag is behind the US flag, at an angle.

 

The flag bearers hold these positions while the Pledge, and anything else, is recited.

 

The US flag is then crossed over, and put in it's holder. Then the other flag is crossed and posted.

 

Scouts meet in middle and are dismissed.

 

When being retired, there is no need to cross over again as the US flag will already be on it's own right.

 

The other flag is taken from it's holder first, and walked to the aisle to wait for the US flag. The US flag is taken from it's holder last and goes down the aisle on it's side.

 

Taps is a fine piece to play while this is going on.

 

Just a note - Both going up, and coming back, make sure the US flag starts off a step or two before the flag on the other side. During the Pledge, while the flag bearers and color guard are standing up in front, PLEASE, make sure that NONE of them salutes, or recites the pledge (or scuffs his foot around, chats with his buddy, checks out the audience, messes with the person in front of them, etc). They stand at attention, and/or hold the flags. That is IT.

 

[DancesWithSpreadsheets 10]

Just so it's clear, during the procession or recession, the U.S. Flag needs to be to the right (in relation to its direction of movement) of any other flag. This can be in the center aisle or by some other path. It does not need to be to the audience's right (i.e. it does not need to pass to the right of everyone in the room). You can bring it up the rightmost aisle, but this is not a requirement.

 

Regards,

DWS

[Stlou 10]

Thanks everyone!!!! All your answers are very helpful!!! Im not as nervous about doing this as I was before I asked!!! Thanks Again!! Ill let you guys know how it goes

 

Thanks Stlou

[ScoutNut 147]

Since you are going to have such a diverse group of Scouts, I would recommend doing a practice run with them all if possible.

 

That way they will have an idea of what will happen, and what you expect from them.

[Stlou 10]

Yes I have a practice scheduled for Nov 9th!! Hopefully we get all the kinks out!!! But Im sure there will be mistakes but that is life as well as part of scouting!!

 

Thanks again Stlou

[Gary_Miller 10]

The RIGHT is the place of honor. That is the fundamental rule governing the location of the national flag in all situations when it flies from a staff. I like to call it and teach it as the US Flag always being on its own right. If displayed at the front of the room in front of an audience its on the right of the room, or speaker, the flags own right.

 

While being carried its on its own right when being carried in. For example if you are bringing the flags in to the room from the back the US Flag should be up from the the right of the room and you cross over in front of the other flag. Or if coming up the center with another flag its on the right.

 

BSA has a great pamphlet titled "Your Flag" which has everything you ever needed to know about the flag, including how it should be displayed.

 

The playing of Taps during the retiring of the colors is a great idea for a veterans day assembly. Recorded music would be OK. However like,clemlaw, suggested a live bugle or a trumpet would have a much better effect. The bugler should be at the back of the room so as not to take the attention of of the flag.(This message has been edited by Gary_Miller)

[BartHumphries 10]

"Just so it's clear, during the procession or recession, the U.S. Flag needs to be to the right (in relation to its direction of movement) of any other flag. This can be in the center aisle or by some other path. It does not need to be to the audience's right (i.e. it does not need to pass to the right of everyone in the room)."

 

Or the US flag can be in front of another flag, either way is correct. You're right, though, it doesn't have to pass on the audience's right while advancing to the front.(This message has been edited by BartHumphries)