The American flag is one of the most important relics that is used to represent the United States; the making of it dating back to when the Continental Congress first approved it in 1777. Over the years the appearance of the Stars and Stripes have changed, as well as how we as citizens are supposed to treat it.

I suspect that many people in the U.S do not know and have not heard of the proper American flag etiquette, excluding active duty soldiers, reserve soldiers, veterans and anybody else taking some form of military training. This may be because parents don’t teach their children the proper way of respecting, simply because they haven’t learned the proper flag etiquette from their parents or schools. At school, we have learned to put our right hands over our hearts when recite the Pledge of Allegiance; others have also learned about when the Stars and Stripes were made and who made them. What many haven’t learned from school is how to properly respect the Colors.

I and many other year-1 cadets know this because up until we joined the JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) program, most of us had no idea that there even was a proper flag etiquette. I believe that many people of the United States are very under taught when it comes to respecting the Stars and Stripes.

I want to start off with how to respect the Colors: where it should and shouldn’t go indoors, outdoors and what to do when you see the flag.  

First and foremost, when being flown with the flags of other nations, the U.S flag must always be flown on a separate staff or pole of the same height; no flag should be flown higher than the U.S flag. When being displayed in front of a house it must be on the right side, not just for a decoration. The flag may be flown for 24 hours straight, but there must be a light shining upon it during the night.

When there is a flag inside of a classroom for example, it should always be hanged on the right side of whoever owns the flag. This means that the flag should always be on the left side of the observers, and the right side of the person that is facing the observers. Any other flag should always be on the left of it. To show respect to a flag when it passes by you, you must stand up and face the flag while standing at attention, take off any non-religious or non required headwear and salute it.

When the Pledge of Allegiance is being recited or the National Anthem is being sung, those in military uniform perform, stand at attention and salute the flag until it is over; meaning NO talking, especially those attending assemblies.  For civilians or people out of military uniform, stand at attention and place your hand over your heart to perform a salute.

Lastly, I want to explain what the actual colors, red, white and blue, represent. Red represents hardiness and valour, white represents innocence and purity and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice. Many people misinterpret the colors of the flag for different meanings.

If you didn’t know any of what I said, I don’t blame you; you probably haven’t learned it from anyone. Luckily, you are not penalized if you actually do violate the flag code.

“I respect the American flag because it brings honor to our country and symbolizes what the United States has gone through in the past years” says Cadet Ocaen Wyatt, an ROTC cadet and freshman here at DV.