MARTINSBURG – Every six months or so, veterans with Martinsburg’s American Legion Post 14 come together to retire tattered or faded American flags in a specialized ceremony.

During a ceremony on Tuesday, the group retired between 300 and 350 flags, many of them donated by organizations around the community, such as the Scouts, Marine Corps League and the local VA Medical Center. The flags came in all shapes and sizes, including everything from pocket-sized flags to three massive flags that once flew over military garrisons.

The ceremony is designed to show respect to the flags and the people who have served the country under them, with legion members running a special flag retirement service where they place the flags into burning barrels. As veterans place flags in the flames, many choose to say the name of a fallen veteran as a tribute to them.

“We want to make sure that people don't think we’re just disposing of them, we’re retiring them in a dignified way,” said Mike Immel, a veteran’s service officer with the West Virginia Department of Veteran’s Assistance, “That’s the biggest thing we’re trying to get across, making sure they’re treated with respect.”

According to Immel, retiring the flags by fire is a sign of purity.

Before the flags can be retired, they have to be inspected to make sure they’re suitable for retirement. Serviceable flags should not have started to rip, become tattered or have their patterns faded by exposure to the sun. Legion members also make sure the flags are properly folded into the standard trifold shape.

“It’s when it's starting to show its age that it's time to retire,” Immel said.

While retiring such a high volume of flags isn’t new for Post 14, it is their first time doing so near their new building in downtown Martinsburg. Ever since they lost their original building in 2018, they’ve been without a home for the various events and programs that the American Legion hosts.

Their new building, located on East Stephen’s Street near the recycling plant, is still a work in progress, but they’re working on turning it into an engagement center to help meet the needs of veterans in the community.

“Our goal with this new building is not quite the norm of the American Legion that has a bar and a place to go have a drink,” said Post 14 Commander Charles Longley. “We have no intention of having a bar here. The younger veterans have small children and they don’t want to bring their kids to a bar.”

Out of the new building, Longley and his fellow legionnaires are hoping to reach out to Berkeley County’s large veteran population, offering much-needed services like mental health counseling, having experts help with VA loans and paperwork, as well as help with writing wills.

“We're very excited to have the building coming along,” Longley said. “We pulled together as a family and we're making great progress.”