KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM At the Flags Flying store, Ed Shneider and Mary Phillips have a wide variety of flag-related items. He recently sported an aloha shirt with a flag design, and she wore a windbreaker.

A bit worse for
the wear, Old Glory
still flies proudly

The Stars and Stripes are hot,
but Flag Day for some reason is not

» Proper ways to display the flag

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By Mary Vorsino
mvorsino@starbulletin.com

They're everywhere, says Norbert Enos.

Rain-sodden, wind-battered old U.S. flags flap from car antennas, home flag posts and office buildings.

"It used to make me upset" to see deteriorated flags being flown, said Enos, a former Veterans of Foreign Wars inspector general, "but not anymore."

After Sept. 11, "I welcome anyone who carries a flag."

Just the same, people should know when to replace a well-used flag, Enos said. And since today is Flag Day, an often-overlooked national day in observance of the Stars and Stripes, it's as good a time as any to remind people of flag etiquette.

According to the U.S. flag code, which outlines proper display and disposal of flags, when a flag "is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display," the flag should be folded and burned in a private ceremony and disposed of quietly.

The increase of tattered flags comes more than nine months after the surge in patriotism that followed the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Flag sales surged so strongly that Terry Archibald, co-owner of Flags n' Things in Aiea, had to close his shop to retail customers for nearly a month.

Mary Phillips, owner of Flags Flying in Ward Warehouse, said she is still trying to replenish her stock of U.S. flags.

She said she has had a steady stream of people buying U.S. flags and flag wear for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day.

Despite the patriotic surge, however, Flag Day is still a nonevent for the retailers.

"I don't think people in Hawaii realize it's Flag Day," Archibald said yesterday. He counted only three people who have come to his store asking for flags or novelties specifically for the national observance.

Flag Day, which celebrates the adoption of the flag by Congress in 1877, was officially designated by President Harry Truman in 1949.

Many flag retailers had thought that Flag Day's significance would be heightened this year, less than 10 months after Sept. 11. But Terry Rotz, president of Honolulu Sign Co., said he has seen mostly businesses showing an interest in replenishing their flag supplies.

"Things have kind of died down since 9/11. People tend to lose track, which is unfortunate. A lot of people have almost forgotten."

Ceremonies for the day are scarce as well.

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl plans to display an avenue of 180 flags, but has not planned any special events for the day, director Gene Castagnetti said.

And he has not received any inquiries from people interested in Flag Day ceremonies. Nevertheless, Castagnetti said he is expecting an increase in visitors today.

"People like to come and see those flags because they symbolize loved ones' sacrifice," he said.

The Elks Club had its annual Flag Day ceremony on the USS Missouri last Sunday to accommodate working and off-island members.

Gary Grimes, Honolulu lodge secretary, said that this year's event was more poignant than in years past.

"It's always been significant but people are more aware (now). I see people stand up now where the American flag is presented. They honor the flag a lot more."

Part of the honoring the flag, according to VFW members, is knowing when it is time to replace and dispose of an old one. Since many people do not know the proper procedures or are wary of burning a flag in their back yard, a number of local organizations will take the flags and dispose of them. They include:

>>	The VFW Department of Hawaii's offices at 3049 Ualena St. or any VFW posts around the state.
>>	The American Legion Department of Hawaii at 612 McCully St.
>>	The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
>>	Any Elks Lodge.

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You can fly the flag
at night with a light

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Star-Bulletin staff

The U.S. flag code outlines what to do and what not to do with Old Glory.

How to display flag:

>>	Display it from sunrise to sunset on a building and on stationary flag staffs in the open. The flag can be displayed 24 hours a day if illuminated at night.
>>	When flying the U.S. flag with state or city flags or company or society pennants, put the U.S. flag at the center and highest point of the display.
>>	When flying the Stars and Stripes with flags of other countries, put all flags at the same height. Also, the flags displayed should be about the same size.
>>	When displaying the flag from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from a window sill, balcony or front of a building, the union (where the stars are) should go clear to the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half-staff.

How not to display flag:

>>	Don't let the flag touch the ground or water.
>>	Don't display it with the union down, except to signal distress.
>>	Don't carry it horizontally, always aloft.
>>	Don't display it in elements that would damage or soil it.
>>	Don't place letters, insignia or designs on flag.
>>	Don't wear the flag.
>>	Don't display the flag during bad weather unless an all-weather flag is being used.