Ahead of this year’s Flag Retirement Ceremony, worn and faded flags may be dropped off by November 1 at the Town House, either fire station, or either post office. Concord Scouts will prepare the flags for retirement.
The ceremony will begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, November 11. A procession will assemble at 7:45 a.m. at Prichard Gate of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery on Bedford Street. Participants will march to the flagpole for a flag-raising ceremony and then proceed further into the cemetery to retire the worn flags.
James Carroll, Francis McDonald, Bernard Rushe, Thomas Tombeno, and Clark McClevin established this local ceremony in 1965.
“They felt that the many cemetery flags, which were torn and faded from being left in place through the fall and winter months, honored neither our nation’s colors nor our departed veterans,” the Concord Public Ceremonies and Celebrations Committee said in a release.
“It was decided that each year, on Veterans Day, the worn flags would be collected by the Public Ceremonies and Celebrations Committee and retired in an appropriate manner.”
Members of the public are invited to attend and are encouraged to participate in the ceremony. Past Concord Honored Citizens — those who have been so honored by the Committee — are especially encouraged to attend.
Questions? Contact the Concord Public Ceremonies and Celebrations Committee at ConcordPCCC@gmail.com.
— Christine M. Quirk
