Etiquette

Flag Display
The American flag is customarily displayed in situations and environments where it may serve as a symbol to Americans of the freedom it represents. It is not to be mistreated or held in disregard. It is to be placed where it can be fully visible, where it will not be tarnished or damaged, and it is not to be dipped to any person, place, or thing. It is to be considered as a living thing and placed over the heart when appropriate.

Traditionally it is displayed from sunrise to sunset. It may be displayed 24 hours a day if proper illumination is provided.  When severe weather persists the flag should not be displayed unless the flag is of all-weather material.

The union (the blue field with the stars) should always be on top, unless those displaying it are in dire distress where life or property are in extreme danger. The union should be to the observer's left (the flag's own right) when it is hanging on a wall and not free standing on a pole. When the union can be seen from either side, the union should be to the east on a north-south street and on the north on an east-west street.

A flag on display should touch nothing beneath it, including: water, ground, or merchandise. It should never be displayed such that it becomes damaged, soiled, or ruined.

It should never be covered with other symbols, insignia, markings, or writings. The flag should not be used as apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be placed as a covering for a ceiling. It is not to be used for advertising purposes.

Official Holidays for Displaying the Flag

Folding the Flag
The flag should be held by no less than two people to avoid it hitting the ground. It is folded twice lengthwise: the first time with the stripes on top and then again in half so that the union is on both sides. The person on the end with the stripes (not holding the union) folds the flag in right triangles until one last fold is available. The end is then tucked into the flag itself by using the free end of the union and the pocket-shaped opening left on the flag.

Respect
The flag has been an inspiration for more than 200 years. It is to be respected and saluted in the following situations:

• Service men in uniform should remain silent, facing the flag with a military salute
• When instructed in an organized event, a person not in uniform should remain silent, place hand over heart (a man with some type of head covering should remove it and place it at his left shoulder) until instructed to be at ease as the colors are posted or the given ceremony has ended.
• Boy Scouts and other organizations who have official salutes should salute as instructed.

The Pledge of Allegiance
When the Pledge of Allegiance is repeated all within hearing distance should stop, face the flag, salute it appropriately, and repeat the Pledge along with the person leading it. In pledging allegiance to the flag, stand with the right hand over the heart or at attention. 

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The Star-Spangled Banner
On Sept. 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key peered through clearing smoke to see an enormous flag flying proudly after a 25-hour British bombardment of Baltimore's Fort McHenry. Key was inspired to write a poem, which was later set to music.

Complete version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" showing spelling and punctuation from Francis Scott Key's manuscript in the Maryland Historical Society collection.

O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
'Tis the star-spangled banner - O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - "In God is our trust,"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Retiring the Flag
When the flag has become soiled, worn, or unfit for display it should be retired. Often there is a ceremony that will be done to retire it appropriately. Traditionally it is incinerated. The flag should be cut with scissors or some type of knife in a structured manner (not just torn) and then incinerated. It is not to be left in rags or simply thrown away. 

Resources on Etiquette
Below are a list of web sites that contain more details regarding the etiquette of the American flag.

• Flag treatment - http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/4/8.html 
• Pledge of Allegiance in voice - http://www.colonialflag.com/product_images/ipledge.mp3 
• Purchase of flag - http://www.colonialflag.com/
• Code on the flag - http://suvcw.org/flag.htm