Submitted photo Members of American Legion Post 113 and the Honor Guard salute as worn U.S. flags were retired in a ceremony held earlier this week. Hundreds of flags turned in by area residents were retired and properly disposed of in the ceremony

MARSHALL — The U.S. flag carries a lot of meaning, and members of the Marshall American Legion post say they take time once a year to show respect to flags that have become worn out with use.

Earlier this week, members of Post 113 and the Honor Guard gathered in rural Lyon County to hold a retirement ceremony for hundreds of worn flags turned in by area residents.

“It’s a meaningful way of disposing of (the flags),” Roger Dale said of the retirement ceremony.

“We do it once a year,” Dale Louwagie said of the flag retirement. Louwagie and fellow Legion members estimated more than 500 flags were retired on Monday night. “We have a drop box here in Marshall,” where worn flags can be deposited, Louwagie said. He said the drop box is located near the Aquatic Center at Legion Field Park.

According to the U.S. Flag Code, the proper way to dispose of a flag that is too worn or tattered to display is by burning it. However, Legion members said flag retirement is very different from situations where a U.S. flag is burned in protest.

Monday’s ceremony followed a formal process, Legion members said. The collected flags were inspected by three different officers, to confirm that they were “faded and worn in a tribute of service and love.”

“It ends up just like a funeral,” Dale said of the ceremony. A prayer is said, members of the honor guard fire a salute and taps is played before the flags are laid in a burning pit and officially retired.

“Everyone is saluting,” Louwagie said. The ashes of the flags are then buried.

Being able to give the flags a proper retirement feels good, Louwagie said, although “It gets you in kind of a somber tone.”

“When you get in the military, you know to respect the flag,” Dale said.