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Going out in flames

by Hannah Neff/Special to the Press
| June 13, 2021 1:08 AM

A light breeze carried the smoke while around 40 people, veterans, cub scouts and others watched the start of ceremonial retirement burning of over 2,000 flags at the American Legion post in Post Falls Saturday morning.

“Usually we have anywhere from 25 to 45 people,” Ron Johnson, post chaplain, said. “There’s been years where we’ve had more than that. We’ve had that many in Scouts.”

The ceremony is held yearly with flags coming from all over the surrounding areas including Washington. Johnson, a Korean War vet, said he has helped with the ceremonies since 1992. Johnson said the attendance “kind of fizzled” after the passing of their former commander the late John Dunlap in 2012.

“Some of the guys didn’t know what they were supposed to do,” Johnson said. “But it’s coming back.”

The ceremony began at 10 a.m. with Commander Jim Kulpepper opening. Cub scouts Ukiah Balback and Tristan Cord of Pack 250 assisted Sergeant-at-Arms Tim Shaw in lowering the flag and presenting it to the commander. Johnson offered a prayer to end the ceremony before the burning of the flags.

“In Boy Scouts it’s one of the aims of scouting to be reverent and this is part of that, to be a service to your country, duty to your country,” Kat Cudmore, co-cub master of Pack 250, said. “So that goes with our law and our promise and the aims and methods of scouting.”

Ukiah, 10, who has been in scouts since first grade said this was his first time helping with the Flag Day ceremony.

“It was actually really fun,” Ukiah said. “It felt like every normal day that my parents, someone asks the pack to do something, and my parents told me that I had to do it. So, it felt pretty normal.”

To which Ukiah’s mom, Crystal Balback, laughed and said, “We encourage leadership roles.”

Parents and veterans assisted the Cub Scouts and the Boy and Girl Scouts in attendance with adding flags to the flames.

“I’m glad that they have a place here, there’s a drop box for the flags because that way it prevents people from throwing them in the trash,” Laura Heape of Post Falls said. “All the people who fought and died under our flag should be respected and it stands for our country, so that’s a thing you have to, you don’t just throw it away.”

Heape, who has many family members in the military, attended the ceremony with her two youngest kids and husband Glen who retired after 25 years of service with the army.

“I think it’s important too for the kids,” Heape said. “It’s nice to see the Boy Scouts out here, so that they learn the proper treatment of the flag.”

Johnson, who chuckled that he was the oldest veteran in attendance, said to him the flag meant his freedom.

“It’s my freedom and the right to be free,” Johnson said. “It’s my country. Plain and simple that’s what it is.”

Johnson paused as he looked at his fellow veterans.

“We spent our time, I spent 32 years in the Navy,” he said. “That was our biggest thing. Protect our flag and our country. Some of the others probably got some other ideas, but that’s me.”

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HANNAH NEFF/Press Sergent-at-Arms Tim Shaw directs Cub Scout Pack 250 scout Tristan Cord in lowering the flag at the flag day ceremony Saturday morning at the American Legion post in Post Falls

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Cub Scout Ukiah Balback, 10, throws an unserviceable flag into the flames under the direction of Sergeant-at-Arms Tim Shaw, right, at the flag day ceremony Saturday morning at the American Legion post in Post Falls