Welcome. This page is maintained by the Honor Guard of the Harbor View Post of the American Legion, and it exists for three reasons: to tell families how to ask for us, to answer the questions we are asked most often about the flag of the United States, and to post our calendar so that members and the public know where we will be. I served in the Navy from 1958 to 1984 and have had the honor of leading this post's guard since 1991. What follows is written plainly and I hope accurately. If you find an error, I would be grateful to hear of it.

The guard is fourteen members of the post, all veterans, ranging in age from 52 to 81. The oldest served in the Pacific in 1944; the youngest served in the Gulf. We wear the Legion uniform: dark trousers, white shirt, Legion cap, white gloves, and for ceremonies the blue blazer. We carry the national colors, the Legion colors and the colors of the state, escorted by two rifle guards, and we have a firing party of seven and a bugler. The bugler is a retired band teacher, and when he cannot be present, and on occasion he cannot, we do the best we can.

In a typical year the guard renders honors at forty to fifty funerals, marches in four or five parades, posts the colors at perhaps two dozen civic and school events, and conducts the flag retirement ceremony on Flag Day. We practice on the first and third Tuesday evenings of the month at the post home, 7:00 p.m. Every member is a volunteer. No family has ever been charged a cent, and none ever will be.

Families often ask what to expect, and the funeral director may not know our particular customs, so here is what we do. It varies a little with the family's wishes and the setting, and we are glad to adjust.

1. The flag on the casket. A veteran's casket may be draped with the flag, with the blue field at the head and over the deceased's left shoulder. The flag is never lowered into the grave and never allowed to touch the ground. The Department of Veterans Affairs provides a burial flag at no cost for an eligible veteran; the funeral director usually obtains it, or the family can apply at a post office. If the family does not have one, tell us, and we will see it is taken care of.
2. At the graveside (or at the chapel, if the family prefers), the guard forms up before the family arrives. The rifle party stands off at a distance. The colors are posted.
3. The volleys. At the conclusion of the service the firing party fires three volleys. This is not a "21-gun salute," though people often call it that; it is three volleys, an old custom of the battlefield signaling that the dead have been cared for and the fight may resume. The rifles are loaded with blanks. We tell the family beforehand so no one is startled, and we ask that small children be held.
4. Taps. The bugler sounds Taps. Twenty-four notes. Everyone stands; veterans and those in uniform salute; others place the right hand over the heart.
5. Folding the flag. Two members of the guard lift the flag from the casket, hold it taut, and fold it into the triangle, as described below. It is done slowly and with care; it is the last thing done for the veteran, and we do not rush it.
6. Presenting the flag. The folded flag is presented to the next of kin, blue field up, with words to this effect: "On behalf of a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service." We kneel, if the next of kin is seated. Three of the spent cartridge cases from the volleys are often tucked into the fold of the flag.
7. Retiring. The guard withdraws quietly. We do not expect to be thanked, though we are often, and we are always glad to speak with the family afterward if they wish it.

We render honors for any honorably discharged veteran of any branch, whether or not he or she was a member of the Legion or of this post. Some families ask for a member of the guard to speak briefly about the veteran's service; we are honored to, if we are given the particulars a few days ahead.

The rules for display of the flag are set out in federal law, in what is generally called the Flag Code (Title 4 of the United States Code). There are no penalties for civilians who get it wrong; it is a guide to respect, not a criminal statute. These are the points that come up most often.

The flag is folded into a triangle so that only the blue field and its stars show, with no red or white visible. It takes two people. The traditional fold uses thirteen folds; various meanings have been attached to each of them over the years, which are a fine sentiment but are not part of the Flag Code, and we do not recite them at graveside.

1. Two people hold the flag waist-high, stretched taut, the union at one end.
2. Fold the lower striped half lengthwise over the union, keeping the edges even.
3. Fold lengthwise again, this time bringing the folded edge to the open edge, so the union is now on the outside.
4. Starting at the striped end (the end away from the union), the person there makes a triangular fold by bringing the corner of the folded edge up to meet the open edge.
5. Turn the point inward, parallel with the open edge, to form a second triangle.
6. Continue folding triangles down the length of the flag. The union end stays taut in the other person's hands; the striped end moves.
7. When only the union remains, tuck the remaining margin into the pocket formed by the last fold. If it is done right, the result is a neat triangle, stars out, that will hold its shape without a pin.

Practice on a kitchen table with a flag that is not in service. A properly folded flag is a small, dignified thing, and it is what a family carries home.

To place the flag at half-staff, first hoist it briskly to the peak, hold it there for an instant, and then lower it slowly to the half-staff position. At the end of the day, raise it again to the peak before lowering it for the day. The flag is never simply run up to the middle of the pole. On a wall-mounted staff that cannot be lowered, a black ribbon or streamer is attached at the top of the staff instead.

Flags are flown at half-staff by order of the President (for the death of certain officials and at other times of national mourning) or of the governor (for state officials and others). The Flag Code also fixes these days:

• Memorial Day (the last Monday in May): half-staff until noon only, then raised to the peak for the rest of the day. This is the one people get wrong most often.
• Peace Officers Memorial Day, May 15: half-staff all day.
• Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, December 7: half-staff all day, by act of Congress since 1994.

When the flag is at half-staff, other flags on the same staff or on adjacent staffs are also at half-staff or removed.

The Flag Code says that when a flag is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, it should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. A faded, frayed or torn flag should not be flown. It should not be thrown in the trash.

The post conducts a flag retirement ceremony each year on Flag Day, June 14, on the grounds behind the post home. Worn flags are collected all year in the box inside the post's front door; anyone may leave a flag there, and most years we retire several hundred, from households, schools, businesses and the cemetery. The ceremony is brief and public: the colors are presented, the flags to be retired are inspected and declared unserviceable, one is cut, with the union kept whole, and committed to the fire while the guard stands at attention; the rest follow. Taps is sounded. The Boy Scout troop that meets at the post assists, and it is a good thing for a young person to see.

A flag that is merely dirty may be washed or dry-cleaned and returned to service. A flag with a small tear may be mended. Retirement is for flags that are past that.

Funerals are, of course, not on the calendar. Members of the guard are notified by the telephone tree as requests come in.

For a funeral, the simplest way is to tell the funeral director that you would like military honors from the Legion; most of the directors in the county know us and will call. You may also write to me directly at the address at the bottom of this page. Please give us:

• The veteran's full name, branch of service and approximate dates of service (a copy of the discharge paper is helpful but not required);
• The date, time and place of the service, and the name of the funeral home;
• Whether you would like the full honors (volleys, Taps, flag folding and presentation) or a color guard only;
• The name of the person who is to receive the flag; and
• Whether there is a burial flag, or whether we should see to one.

We ask for 48 hours' notice if at all possible, so that the telephone tree can be worked and a full guard assembled. We have turned out on shorter notice and will again. We do not decline requests for lack of a fee, because there is no fee. Families who wish to make a donation to the post's flag fund may, and it goes to flags and to the bugler's gasoline, but it is never asked for and never expected.

For parades, dedications, school assemblies, sporting events and the like, write with the date, time, place and what is wanted (posting of colors, a color guard to lead, a rifle salute), at least two weeks ahead. We serve schools first, always.

Membership in the American Legion is open to veterans who served honorably on active duty during one of the wartime periods designated by Congress. The post adjutant can tell you in five minutes whether your dates of service qualify; most veterans of the last sixty years do. The post also has an Auxiliary for spouses, mothers, daughters and other family of eligible veterans, and a squadron of the Sons of the American Legion.

The honor guard is open to any member of the post in good standing who can stand for an hour, march a mile, and give the time. We are always short-handed on weekday mornings, when most funerals are held and most of our younger members are at work. If you are retired, or work shifts, and you have a good pair of shoes, we would like to hear from you. Practice is the first and third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at the post home. Come and watch one. No obligation.

I will add that there is no more direct way to serve a fellow veteran than to stand at his grave in a clean shirt and fold his flag correctly. It is not complicated. It matters more than anything else we do.

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