Wilmington's American Flag "Retirement" Ceremony June 24

WILMINGTON, MA — People retire, but do American flags? The simple answer is: yes.

The Wilmington Minutemen will be hold their annual Flag Retirement Ceremony at 2 p.m. on June 24 at Minutemen Headquarters, behind the Harnden Tavern at 430 Salem Street.

The Minutemen have held this ceremony annually since 2002 to properly dispose of old American flags the group has collected over the past year.

There is the right way and wrong way to "retire" or dispose of Old Glory.

At the ceremony, Old Glory will be folded and placed, one-by-one, into a fire pit. Each flag is saluted.

Residents can bring tattered flags to the event, or they can drop off the flags, year-round, in the marked boxes at the Wilmington Town Hall and the Wilmington Post Office.

The public, along with well the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, various civic organizations, and the Board of Selectmen, are invited to attend.

For more information about retiring an American flag see How to Retire a U.S. Flag .