When
to Display the Flag
The flag should be displayed on
all days when the weather permits, especially on legal holiday
or other special occasions. It is customary to display the
flag from sunrise to sunset on building or on stationary flagstaffs
in the open. However, on special occasions it may be displayed
at night, preferably lighted. In several places the flag flies
day and night, among these are the Capitol in Washington,
D.C. and the Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore,
which was the inspiration of the "The Star Spangle Banner"
by Francis Scot Key.
The flag should be displayed...
- on or near the main administration
building of every public institution
- in or near polling places on
election days
- in or near schools when they
are in session
A citizen may fly the flag on any
day he wishes.
How to Fly
the Flag
The flag should be raised and lowered
by hand. Never, raise the flag while it is furled; unfurl,
then hoist quickly to the peak of the flagstaff. It should
be lowered slowly and ceremoniously. The flag should never
be allowed to touch anything beneath it, such as the ground
or the floor.
The flying of the flag at half-staff
is a sign of mourning. When flown at half-staff, the flag
should be first hoisted to the peak, then immediately lowered
to the staff-staff position. It should be raised to the peak
again for a moment before it is lowered for the day. "Half-staff"
is the point midway between top and bottom of the flagstaff.
On Memorial Day in May, the flag should fly at half-staff
from sunrise until noon, and at full-staff from noon until
sunset.
At sea services by Navy chaplains,
the church pennant may be flown above the flag.
No other flag may be flown above
the United States flag except at the United Nations Headquarters.
The UN flag may be places above flags of all member nations.
In the UN enclave, national flags of all member nations are
flown with equal prominence.
When flags of two or more nations
are displayed together, they should be flown from separate
staffs of the same height, and the flags should be of approximately
equal size. International usage forbids the display of the
flag of one nation above that of another in time of peace.
How to Display
the Flag
When carried in a procession with
another flag or flags, the Stars and Stripes should be at
the right-front of the column, or when there is a line of
other flags, in front of the center of that line. The flag
should never be carried flat or horizontally but always aloft
and floating free.
When a number of flags are grouped
and displayed from staffs, the flag of the United States should
be in the center of at the highest |
point of the group.
When displayed with another flag from crossed staffs, the
flag of the United States should be on the right (the flag's
own right), and its staff should be in front of the staff
of the other flag.
If the flag is displayed from a
staff projected from a windowsill, balcony or front of a building,
the union of the flag should go to the peak of the staff (unless
the flag is to be displayed at half-staff.)
When the flag is displayed in any
manner other than being flown from a staff, it should be displayed
flat, whether indoors or out. If displayed either horizontally
or vertically against a well, the union should be uppermost
and to the flag's own right; that is to the observer's left.
When displayed in a window, it should be suspended in the
same way--that is, with the union to the left of the observer
in the street.
When displayed over the middle
of the street, the Stars and Stripes should be suspended vertically
with the union to the north on a easy-west street and to the
east on a north-south street.
When the flag is suspended over
a sidewalk from a rope extending from house to pole at the
edge of the sidewalk, the flag should be hoisted out from
the building toward the pole union first.
When used on a speaker's platform,
the flag may be displayed flat, above and behind the speaker.
If flown from a staff it should be on the speaker's right;
all other flags on the platform should be on his left.
When it is displayed on the pulpit
or chancel in a church, the flag should be flown from a staff
places on the clergy's right as he faces the congregation.
All other flags on the pulpit or chancel should be on his
left.
However, when the flag is displayed
on the floor of a church or auditorium, on a level with the
audience, it is places to the right of the audience.
When flags of states or cities,
or pennants of societies, are flown on the same halyard with
the flag of the United States, the latter should always be
at the peak. When flown from adjacent staffs, the Stars and
Stripes should be raised first and lowered last.
When used to cover a casket, the
flag should be placed so that the union is at the head and
over the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into
the grave or allowed to touch the ground. The casket should
be carried foot-first from the hearse to the grave.
Saluting the
Flag
In saluting the flag, those present
in uniform should render the military salute. When not in
uniform, men should remove the hat with the right hand and
hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart.
Women and men without hats, should place the right hand over
the heart. Aliens should stand at attention. |
All persons present
should face the flag, stand at attention and salute on the
following occasions:
- When the flag is passing in
a parade or review. The salute to the flag in the moving
column is rendered at the moment the flag passes.
- During the ceremony of hoisting
or lowering the flag
- When the National Anthem is
played and the flag is displayed
- During the Pledge of Allegiance
-- 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.
When the National Anthem is played
and the flag is not displayed, all present should stand and
face toward the music. Those in uniform should salute at the
first note of the anthem, retaining this position until the
last note. All others should stand at attention, men removing
their hats. When the flag is displayed, all present should
face the flag and salute.
How to Dispose
of Worn Flags
Every precaution should be taken
to prevent the flag from becoming soiled. When a flag is in
such a condition, through wear or damage, that is no longer
a fitting emblem for display, it should be destroyed privately
in a dignified manner.
The flag should NEVER
- be tilted (dipped) even momentarily
to any person or thing. regimental colors, state flags,
organization or institutional flags may be tilted as the
mark of honor.
- be displayed with the union
down except as a signal of dire distress.
- be carried flat or horizontally,
but always aloft and floating free.
- be displayed on a float, motor
car of boat except from a staff.
- be allowed to touch the ground
or floor, or brush against objects
- have objects placed on, over
it or be used as a covering for a ceiling
- have any mark, insignia, letter,
work, figure, picture or drawing of any nature place upon
or attached to it.
- be used as a receptacle for
carrying anything, or be used to cover a statue or monument.
If used in connection with unveiling ceremonies, it should
not serve as a covering of the object being unveiled.
- be used for advertising purposes
or have advertising signs fastened to its staff or halyard.
- be embroidered on such articles
as handkerchief or cushions, or be printed or otherwise
impressed on boxes.
- be used as a costume of athletic
uniform or part of one.
- be used as drapery of any sort
whatsoever, never festooned, drawn back or up in folds,
but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white
and red -- always arranged with the blue above, while in
the middle, and red below -- should be used for such purposes
of decoration as covering a speaker's desk or draping the
front of a platform.
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American Flags
