Westlake High School senior Nathan Peavey found a unique way to celebrate Flag Day Monday. The Eagle Scout hopeful burned a flag.

It is called flag retirement, and there are very specific rules about how an aging American flag can be disposed of and who can do the job. As his Eagle Scout project, Peavey built a flag retirement burn pit at the CE-Bar Volunteer Fire Department on Commons Ford Ranch Road in Lake Hills. He did so at the request of Assistant Chief Behrns.

“A lot of people bring their flags to CE-Bar when they want to dispose of them,” Peavey said. “You would be surprised how many flags they burn each year.”

Dressed in his Scout uniform, Peavey said the Pledge of Allegiance and burned the first flag at the new facility, a ragged 100-year-old flag that had once belonged to his grandfather. There were 15 more flags waiting in line for the retirement ceremony when he finished.

BELOW:

Photo by Dane Anderson

Eagle Scout Nathan Peavey burned his grandfather’s American flag at a Flag Day retirement ceremony at CE-Bar Volunteer Fire Department Monday as, from left, Jessie Bolles, Cole Rador, Brandon Wright, Mark Frost and Chad Dube looked on.