Scout Makes Flag Retirement Box

August 11, 2022

July 20, 2022 - Riley Fitzwater, a scout in Troop 713, provided a wooden receptacle for the collection of worn flags to Christopher Ruff, the museum curator, where it was placed inside near the entrance to the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum on Fort Bragg in Building C-6841.

Ruff said he was contacted through Ralph Alvarez, the museum’s volunteer coordinator, museum technician and archivist, several months ago. Fitzwater then pitched the concept to Ruff. Ruff added, “I thought it was a good idea and it would be great for the entryway.”

Fitzwater said that the flag receptacle project is part of his goal to achieve Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the scouting program. Among other requirements, a scout must conceive, propose, plan, fundraise and execute a community improvement project.

Members of Troop 713 gathered to assisted him with the construction of the receptacle, fulfilling 3 principles of the scout law: trustworthy, loyal, and helpful. Fitzwater says his project is unique, because his troop will continue his work by collecting the flags and performing dignified disposals even after he has aged out of scouting.

Per the US Flag Code, 4 U.S. Code § 5; when a flag is so tattered that it no longer fits to serve as a symbol of the United States, it should be replaced in a dignified manner, preferably by burning. The receptacle offers an easily accessible location for those needing to properly dispose of a flag.

The U.S. Army 82d Airborne Division War Memorial Museum (82d AB WMM) is dedicated to telling the history of the 82d Airborne Division from 1917 to the present.

Image created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Army photos by Brian Bird, Fort Bragg Garrison Public Affairs.

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