Lometa Scouts retire flags

Lometa Scouts held a special ceremony to retire worn U.S. flags last weekend in the community.

Lometa Boy Scouts held a flagretirement ceremony Saturday in their community. They retired 14 flags from friends, family, a business owner and a Vietnam veteran.

Boy Scouts involved were Sam Pauly, Patrick Case, Seyitbey Kuccukkarca, Junior Torres, Gunner Bradley, Ty Pauly and Cub Scout Alex Torres.

Adults involved with the troop are Bill Pauly, Gene Case and Stacy Pauly.

To retire flags, Scouts cut them into strips, with each color having its own meaning.

White represents purity and honor, while red stands for the men and women in the armed forces who have served or died for freedom. It also stands for those on American soil who have died to protect others' rights.

Blue stands for valor and courage.

After burning the individual pieces, new flags were exchanged for those that were retired.

PHOTOS BY BILL McDONALD