A flag's funeral

McALLEN — Bryan Garcia picked a solemn task for his Eagle Scout project — the disposal of a U.S. flag.

“I thought people didn’t know enough about the flag, how to take care of it properly and show respect for it,” said the McAllen High School senior.

So on Saturday morning in Archer Park, Garcia led Scouts and parents through a 10-minute flag retirement ceremony.

There are several ways to dispose of a flag, but the best is to cut it and burn it, Garcia said.

In front of 30 onlookers, Garcia and a half-dozen of his fellow Boy Scouts from Troop 76 cut the flag five or six times and placed the strips into a gas-fed fire.

“He’s doing something that needs to be done,” said Troop 76 assistant scoutmaster Mike Henry in an interview before the ceremony. “There’s so many flags flying that need to be retired. Those flags are special and they need to be disposed of properly.”

For his Eagle Scout project, Garcia collected 67 worn and torn flags from churches and businesses. All of them will be properly retired.

As an Eagle Scout, Garcia would become part of the Boy Scout elite — only 5 percent of all Scouts reach the highest level, Henry noted.

Troop 76 has had six Eagle Scouts this year. Other Eagle Scout projects included house painting and constructing a butterfly garden.

“There’s a lot of distractions,” Henry said, referring to cars and girls, “so it does take a lot of dedication to reach this level.”

Bryan’s brother Adrian became an Eagle Scout last year, and his younger brother Chris — who helped dispose of the flag Saturday — is on his way to becoming one.

“You got an idea of what you’re going to do for your Eagle Scout project?” father Jerry Garcia asked Chris, a seventh-grader.

“Kinda,” Chris replied.

“Well,” Jerry said, “you got time.”

———

Michael Barnett covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4447. For this and more local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.