Method of Displaying the Flag

There are certain fundamental rules of heraldry which indicate the proper method of displaying the flag. There are also certain rules of good taste which, if observed, would insure the proper use of the flag. (1) The union of the flag is the honor point; the right arm is the sword arm and therefore the point of danger and hence the place of honor. (2) When the national flag is carried, as in a procession, with another flag or flags, the place of the national flag is on the right - i. e.. the flag's own right. (3) When the national flag and another flag are displayed together, as against a wall from crossed staffs, the national flag should be on the right, the flag's own right - i. e., the observer's left - and its staff should be in front of the staff of the other flag. (4) When a number of flags are grouped and displayed from staffs the national flag should be in the center or at the highest point of the group. (5) When the national flag is hung either horizontally or vertically against a wall the union should be uppermost and to the flag's own right - i. e., to the observer's left. When displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from a window sill or the front of a building, the same rules should be observed. (6) When the flag is suspended between buildings so as to hang over the middle of the street, a simple rule is to hang the union to the north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and south street. When flown with other flags. - When flags of States or cities or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the national flag, the national flag must always be at the peak. When flown from adjacent staffs the national flag should be hoisted first. There is a chaplain's flag authorized in Army Regulations, but there is no church pennant prescribed. Neither the chaplain's flag nor any other flag or pennant is authorized to be placed above or to the right of the national flag. International usage. - The display of the flag of one nation above that of any other nation in time of peace is forbidden. When the flags of two or more nations are to be displayed they should be flown from separate staffs or from separate halyards, of equal size and on the same level. General uses. - There is no Federal law governing the subject, but it is suggested - That the national flag when not flown from a staff be always hung flat, whether indoors or out. It should not be festooned over doorways or arches nor tied in a bowknot nor fashioned into a rosette. When used on a rostrum it should be displayed above and behind the speaker's desk. It should never be used to cover the speaker's desk nor to drape over the front of the platform. For this purpose as well as for decoration in general, bunting of the national colors should be used, arranged with the blue above, the while in the middle, and the red below. Under no circumstances should the flag be draped over chairs or benches, nor should any object or emblem of any kind be placed above or upon it, nor should it be hung where it can be easily contaminated or soiled. No lettering of any kind should ever be placed upon the flag. It should not be used as a portion of a woman's costume nor of a man's athletic clothing. A very common misuse of the flag is the practice of embroidering the flag on cushions and handkerchiefs, and the printing of the flag on paper napkins. These practices, while not strictly a violation of any present Federal law, certainly are lacking in respect and dignity and can not be considered as evidence of good taste. There is no objection to flying the flag at night on civilian property, provided it is not so flown for advertising purposes. Reveille and retreat. - It is the practice in the Army, each day in the year, to hoist the flag briskly at sunrise, irrespective of the condition of the weather, and to lower it slowly and ceremoniously at sunset, indicating the commencement and cessation of the activities of the day. Memorial Day. - On Memorial Day (May 30) at all Army posts and stations the national flag is displayed at half staff from sunrise until noon and at full staff from noon until sunset. When flown at half staff the flag is always first hoisted to the peak, the honor point, and then slowly lowered to the half-staff position in honor of those who gave their lives to their country, but before lowering the flag for the day it is raised again to the head of the staff, for the Nation lives and the flag is the living symbol of the Nation. Unveiling statues. - When flags are used in connection with the unveiling of a statue or monument, they should not be allowed to fall to the ground, but should be carried aloft to wave out, forming a distinctive feature during the remainder of the ceremony. Military funerals. - When the national flag is used on a bier or casket at a military funeral, the rule is the reverse of that for hanging vertically against a wall. The union should be placed at the head of the casket and over the left shoulder of the soldier. The casket should be carried foot first. The flag should not be lowered into the grave and in no case should it be allowed to touch the ground. When a body is shipped to relatives by the War Department for private burial, the flag which drapes the shipping case is turned over to relatives with the remains for use at the funeral, and may be retained by them. Patriotic occasions. - It is becoming the practice throughout the country among civilians to display the national flag on all patriotic occasions, especially on the following days: Lincoln's Birthday, February 12; Washington's Birthday, February 22; Mother's Day, second Sunday in May; Memorial Day, May 30; Flag Day, June 14; Independence Day, July 4; Armistice Day, November 11. In certain localities other special days are observed in the same manner. Signal of distress. - The flag should never be hung nor displayed union down except as a signal of distress at sea.