MINT HILL — The Knights of Columbus held their Flag Retirement Ceremony at St. Luke Catholic Church Monday.
The Knights, who collected more than 110 flags throughout the year, opened the ceremony with a formal salute by an honor guard made up of Fourth Degree Knights from several parishes.
The ceremony is in its 15th year and is an important one for veterans, including organizer James Strauss.
“I was a Vietnam veteran. I never saw combat, but I saw the people who came back and were spit on at the airport as I came back,” Strauss said. “I will never in my life forgive or forget that. So, Veterans Day affects me a little bit differently. The ability to honor the people around me who died for this country and suffered for this country holds a special meaning.”
Strauss does not have a photo of his late father who was a World War II veteran, but he does have a poem his father wrote while he fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
“One of my nephews found it and sent it to me and I was able to read that at the ceremony,” Strauss said. “So, this year added a little bit extra on top of everything…I do get choked up about it.”
Under the U.S. Flag Code, if an American flag becomes worn, faded or torn, it must be properly disposed of, preferably by fire.
The ceremony ended with a ceremonial burning in the fire pit in St. Luke’s outdoor Marian courtyard – the large statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, watching over them.
— Lisa M. Geraci
