[senior citizen]

A recent poster's comments made me wonder when it is appropriate to fly our American flag (we also have buntings for our front porch railings)......thus, here is a great reminder list:

Also, below this a happy ending to a woman's despair after her beloved father's flag was stolen.......

When to Fly Your American Flag in 2014
The U.S. flag should be flown every day but especially on national holidays. FlagandBanner.com presents the 2014 holiday calendar with half staff information.
While marking down birthdays and special events, think about marking what days to lower your American flag to half staff. While the American flag should be flown every day of the year, it is especially important to fly flags on national holidays and if they are half staff days, flags should always be lowered to half staff.


Kerry McCoy, owner of FlagandBanner.com, said, "The American flag does not stand for any political party or faction, it stands for every American. We look to our flag in times of national triumph such as the upcoming Olympics when we hope to see our flag displayed and our national anthem play. We again look to our flag in times of national tragedy, such as the Boston Marathon bombing this past year or September 11th, 2001. These times of trial or celebration are when we as a nation rally around our flag. Let us hope in 2014 that half staff notices will only be issued for already known holidays and we also hope you will join us in proudly flying your flag all 365 days this year."


2014 Holiday Calendar:

Wednesday, January 1, New Years Day

Monday, January 20, Martin Luther King Day

Monday, February 17, Presidents’ Day

Thursday, May 15, Peace Officer’s Memorial Day (half staff)

Saturday, May 17, Armed Forces Day

Monday, May 26, Memorial Day (half staff until noon, then raised to full staff until sunset)

Saturday, June 14, Flag Day

Friday, July 4, Independence Day

Monday, September 1, Labor Day

Thursday, September 11, Patriot Day (half staff)

Friday, September 19, National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Monday, October 13, Columbus Day

Tuesday, November 4, Election Day

Tuesday, November 11, Veterans Day

Thursday, November 27, Thanksgiving Day

Sunday, December 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (half staff)

Thursday, December 25, Christmas Day

Pembroke, MAINE woman's cherished family flag returned after theft.
Pembroke is four hours north of Yarmouth, Maine/Brunswick ME region.
Here's a happy ending to a missing flag......
June 24, 2014

• PEMBROKE – Nancy Brewer said she was “so angry and hurt” Friday when she realized the American flag that had been draped over her father’s casket two decades ago was missing from her neighbor’s flagpole, where it had been flying.
• 
  “It was flying across the street at my neighbor’s house so I could see it,” she said Sunday. “His flagpole is lit at night, so you can keep (the flag) hoisted all the time.”
• 
  Brewer – whose father was a U.S. Marine who served during World War II – said the flag is so sentimental that she held off on flying it for years. It wasn’t until this Father’s Day, which would have been her father’s 100th birthday, that she decided to fly it across the street, where she could keep an eye on it.
• 
  In an attempt to help Brewer retrieve the flag after it was stolen, she said, her neighbor made a plea on Facebook for its safe return. The outreach on social media paid off, and Brewer said a man whose friends had taken the flag brought it to police Sunday. Police escorted the man to Brewer’s house so he could return it.
• 
  Brewer said it turned out to be a “drunken prank” carried out by three party-goers wandering around the neighborhood early Friday. Although it was his friends who took it, the unidentified man ended up with the flag, Brewer said.
• 
  “He was extremely apologetic, and folded (the flag) officially,” she said. “His father served in Guam, so he knew what the flag meant.”
  Brewer said she decided not to press charges against the friends. She’s just happy they decided to do the right thing and turn it over to police.
  “I’m so thankful,” she said. “It shows the power of Facebook.”
• 
  Jessica Trufant may be reached at jtrufant@ledger.com