June 3, 2026 • 11 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Be the talk station.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Fifty five KERCD talk Station or their Happy Wednesday to
you in studio, the return of Claimont County Veteran Service
Commission Steve Belzo, who's got to be talking about Flag Day,
Steve Bells. It's always great having you in the studio.
And I see that. I guess Ken Williamson handed off
the flag retirement ceremony announcement to you, and that's aoka.
It's at Union Township Civic Amphitheater on this Saturday, June sixth,
(00:30):
one pm along with the Boy Scout Troop four fifty two.
I've been doing this for years. They've always invited me over.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yesh.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It is such a I wish it was more well attendant,
and that's one of the reasons you're here to talk
about it. But it's just such a neat ceremony. You
learn about the having respect for the flag, and it
was a Steve tam is just a beautiful guy. I mean,
he's gonna kick this thing off. He would drive around
and if he saw a tattered flag one should have
been retired in a home or a business, he pulled
(01:00):
right on over and just knock on the door and
say hey, Hey, it's time to get that flag down.
You know, if you don't have one, I'll give you one.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I have commissioners that carry them in their vehicles and
they'll stop and just change them out. I think that's right,
that's great exactly. But it's part of the patriotic bone.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
It is, you know, the symbol of our country. It is,
you know, and I always feel so proud of what
it represents. And to me, I always boil it down. Freedom.
I mean, it's one thing I truly believe in his freedom.
You have your own version of what you perceive freedom
to be. You can be your own person in the
United States of America. You worship whatever religion you want.
You can speak your mind with our free speech freedom.
(01:38):
There's no other country in the world.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Well, I'll tell you, being around this world many times,
there are few symbols that are globally recognized, and our
American flag is one of them.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
And so many people trying to tear it down and
turn it into something that it's not a symbol of,
you know, anger, division, you know, evil and stopping on it.
And you know, I don't want a loss thing. You
can't burn it up because that's part of freedom and speech.
But you know what, I have such a profound level
of respect. It always breaks my heart to see that
people would do that.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yeah, man, desecrating the flag.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
You're yeah, there wasn't a band aid you pulled off.
I having to have an arm removed there where the
band aid says. But nonetheless, it's one of those the
somber event to retire and dispose of a flag. It
is discreet, It is not a celebration. No, it is
meant to be honored the way we would a loved
(02:37):
one in a cemetery.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Exactly. That's what it's all about. Yes, sir, there is
a way to properly dispose of a flag when it's
end of its useful life. You're supposed to celebrate it
and honor it by placing it in you know. And
we'll walk through all of the steps on Saturday and
how that's properly done. But it is an event much
like a funeral.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Because we live in this What it resents the democracy
of this nation. However, you look at our democracy, we
are still the most democratic, fair based country on the
face of this earth.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
A man or with Steve Belzo, we'll talk about the
flag Retirement Ceremony after these brief Ford USA insulation and
taking the name in a patriotic way USA Premium Foam
in the xtree walls vire seven forty eight, seven forty
nine actually fifty one kerc DEE talk Station. Flag Retirement
Ceremony this Saturday, one pm be at the Union Township
Civic Center Amphitheater. First eighteen people who show up and
(03:36):
bring a flag that needs to be retired are going
to receive a brand new and four free three foot
by five foot flag at the end of the ceremony
because you need to take down your old tattter flag.
They call them unserviceable and they need to be retired.
Steve Belzo, Clement County Veteran Services. Before we get to
the reason for Flag Day and what it is unserviceable,
what does it mean to be unserviceable? I mean there's
(03:57):
degrees of flag age out there in the world. When
at what point would Steve Tams start knocking on your
door and telling you to get the thing down and properly,
properly retire it.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah, absolutely, there is a I don't want to say
a militaristic, draconian look at the flag. But yet there is, right,
so unserviceable.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Does the flag without.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Rip or tear look exceedingly weathered? Are the colors faded?
It's time to replace the flag. Aside from that, as
soon as the flag starts to tearing, right and you've
got these frayed ends flying off, or how many have
we seen driving down a road that there's like thirteen
streamers because of flags coming apart, it's like, bring the
(04:43):
thing down. And that's when it's unserviceable is when it
does not look new anymore. Basically, right, it's starting to tear.
Their weather rised, right, they're made out of a nylon
now that they're supposed to take the higher winds and
the rain. But after about two years the sun degrad
anything that it had for some sort of construction that
(05:03):
it just starts to come apart.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, or sooner. In the case, we fly our flag
every single day at the Thomas Household in the sun
and sometimes the rain. I know you're supposed to be
taking them down at appropriate times and not fly them
at night unless they're illuminated too.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Oh, thank you very much, chi Ching Brian, got it.
I know the rules.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, know why because I've been doing the flag retirement
ceremony for a long years.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
I've got boy Scouts in my head.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
I got it down. At least go back to what
is Flag Day and what is the history behind flag days?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Deep?
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Oh, my gosh, flag Day.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
It is from seventeen seventy seven. I mean, if you
can think about seventeen seventy seven and the recognition of
our American flag extends all the way back to then,
of just the liberty, if you can put yourself in
the revolutionary soldiers and community members of this new nation
(05:54):
and what that flag represented to them. Oh yeah, right, yeah,
today we're taking it for granted. But let's go back
to the beginning and what did it mean to those
beginning settlers to have their first flag approved by the
Second Continental Congress, the thirteen red and white stripes, the
(06:14):
blue field, and the thirteen circling stars.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
And still within memory of the Revolutionary War which brought
about the creation of the flag.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
In seventeen seventy seven, the war still going on. Well,
valid point on that right, seventy six we wrote the independence, Well,
what didn't mean we were independent? We were still fighting
for it until seventy eight.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Valid point.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So there's to raise old Glory, then Young Glory in
seventeen seventy seven. That was a rallying cry. Right, when
you bring a country together behind a single symbol like that,
it's huge.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Well, going back, and you said, I hit the nail
on the head about taking the flag down a night
unless it's illuminated. But are there other rules for flying
a flag outside?
Speaker 1 (06:59):
There is when when.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
The United States flag should never touch the ground, right
that I know. So when you see people bringing a
flag down, it is meant to be caught at the
bottom and not be draped on the ground until you
can unhook it from the morning points. Secondly, some people
pull it down and then they there's a proper folding
technique to retire it for the evening. So flying it outside,
(07:25):
it should never be so large that it's hitting the ground.
It should be illuminated from sunset till sunrise, or take
it down at night. There's so many automatic battery charged
lights that are out there now that.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Are solar powered.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
It's so easy to just have a spotlight on the
flag if it's inconvenient at sunrise or sundown. Even the
branches don't agree when we raise colors or retire them
in the evening. The Marine Corps in the Army do
it at different times.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (07:57):
It is?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yeah, so the Rine Corps does it, but we take
it down at sunset. I think the Army does it
at sunrise and takes it down at like seventeen hundred. Right,
So you guys fight about right, Oh, absolutely, it's no
different than you and your brothers.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Right.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
No, Mom had two left feet. No, it was that, right,
So it's it's the same type of thing. But yet
it's it's a it's a good argument over how do
we respect this thing and the fact that we are
respecting our flag. So there's a certain premers that come
into flying the flag respectively outside and then it should
always be at the utmost highest peak if you're flying
(08:34):
it with other flags, if another flag pole is next
to it, the American flag should be at the right.
Now who's perspective? Now, if it's the homeowner, the flag
should be on the right and the other state or
federal flag should be on the left. But if I'm
at a church and I walk in and I see
a church flag and I see the American flag, well
(08:56):
where do they go?
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Which side? Do I wear them on? Or do I
post them on.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Well, if it's on the stage with the pastor, the
American flag is to the pastor's right, the church flag
is to his left.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
But if they're forward of the.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Pastor, the colors now represent the congregation. And now I
have to flip the flags that the American flags to
the right and the church flag is on.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The left to start writing things down.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
But this is to give a proper respect of who
it is representing as a group. So as a pastor
on the stage supporting the pastor and the church. The
only time a flag flies higher than the American flag
is during church services aboard a naval vessel.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Okay, And how does that have a How do they
come about with that different rule?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
That is a great question when you don't ask the navy.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
And then here's the swirling question, and maybe a little
too lead dwelling for the purposes of this general discussion
about just having respect for the flag. When do you
fly it at half mass? My wife and I be
driving around in the big flag at half mass. I'm like, well,
maybe somebody in the business that the business owner died,
or someone within the business, because not all the flags
are being flown at half mass. Is there some general
(10:16):
set of rules for that.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
So there's both federal and state.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
So the state can ask, right that everybody fly their
flag at half mass. A state senator passes, the former
governor passes, it's typically someone of previous prominence within the state,
right that the governor wants to recognize. Maybe it was
a state trooper that was killed over a rodent center
or something. Right, And so they'll half mast a flag.
(10:42):
And business owners who are flying the American flag, and
we see large construction companies just have like TQL has
just mammos. We call it a holiday flag. That's the
size of a flag they're flying. Right, So you would
monitor a state website to know when to half mass.
The state's not going to publish to everybody. Oh, by
the way, Joey Johnson down on this roll, did you
(11:03):
know if you have a flag? Right, But the state
has a website that you can go to to view
their directions over flying half mass. And then federally, we
know the federal holidays. And a US senator passes, a
former president passes, there will be a proclamation to fly
the flags at half mass for a determined amount of period.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
All right, All that makes sense to me. I'm still
confused about the whole pastor situation in the church, but
you know, I'm not going to be responsible for that
decision making. Just fly a flag, respect it, take care
of it, retire it when it's appropriate. And I think
any casual observer could look at a flag and know,
one way or another whether it's ready to retire, and
if it is, bring it to the flag retirement ceremony.
(11:44):
Union Townships
Be the talk station.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Fifty five KERCD talk Station or their Happy Wednesday to
you in studio, the return of Claimont County Veteran Service
Commission Steve Belzo, who's got to be talking about Flag Day,
Steve Bells. It's always great having you in the studio.
And I see that. I guess Ken Williamson handed off
the flag retirement ceremony announcement to you, and that's aoka.
It's at Union Township Civic Amphitheater on this Saturday, June sixth,
(00:30):
one pm along with the Boy Scout Troop four fifty two.
I've been doing this for years. They've always invited me over.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yesh.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It is such a I wish it was more well attendant,
and that's one of the reasons you're here to talk
about it. But it's just such a neat ceremony. You
learn about the having respect for the flag, and it
was a Steve tam is just a beautiful guy. I mean,
he's gonna kick this thing off. He would drive around
and if he saw a tattered flag one should have
been retired in a home or a business, he pulled
(01:00):
right on over and just knock on the door and
say hey, Hey, it's time to get that flag down.
You know, if you don't have one, I'll give you one.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
I have commissioners that carry them in their vehicles and
they'll stop and just change them out. I think that's right,
that's great exactly. But it's part of the patriotic bone.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
It is, you know, the symbol of our country. It is,
you know, and I always feel so proud of what
it represents. And to me, I always boil it down. Freedom.
I mean, it's one thing I truly believe in his freedom.
You have your own version of what you perceive freedom
to be. You can be your own person in the
United States of America. You worship whatever religion you want.
You can speak your mind with our free speech freedom.
(01:38):
There's no other country in the world.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Well, I'll tell you, being around this world many times,
there are few symbols that are globally recognized, and our
American flag is one of them.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
And so many people trying to tear it down and
turn it into something that it's not a symbol of,
you know, anger, division, you know, evil and stopping on it.
And you know, I don't want a loss thing. You
can't burn it up because that's part of freedom and speech.
But you know what, I have such a profound level
of respect. It always breaks my heart to see that
people would do that.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Yeah, man, desecrating the flag.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
You're yeah, there wasn't a band aid you pulled off.
I having to have an arm removed there where the
band aid says. But nonetheless, it's one of those the
somber event to retire and dispose of a flag. It
is discreet, It is not a celebration. No, it is
meant to be honored the way we would a loved
(02:37):
one in a cemetery.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Exactly. That's what it's all about. Yes, sir, there is
a way to properly dispose of a flag when it's
end of its useful life. You're supposed to celebrate it
and honor it by placing it in you know. And
we'll walk through all of the steps on Saturday and
how that's properly done. But it is an event much
like a funeral.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Because we live in this What it resents the democracy
of this nation. However, you look at our democracy, we
are still the most democratic, fair based country on the
face of this earth.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
A man or with Steve Belzo, we'll talk about the
flag Retirement Ceremony after these brief Ford USA insulation and
taking the name in a patriotic way USA Premium Foam
in the xtree walls vire seven forty eight, seven forty
nine actually fifty one kerc DEE talk Station. Flag Retirement
Ceremony this Saturday, one pm be at the Union Township
Civic Center Amphitheater. First eighteen people who show up and
(03:36):
bring a flag that needs to be retired are going
to receive a brand new and four free three foot
by five foot flag at the end of the ceremony
because you need to take down your old tattter flag.
They call them unserviceable and they need to be retired.
Steve Belzo, Clement County Veteran Services. Before we get to
the reason for Flag Day and what it is unserviceable,
what does it mean to be unserviceable? I mean there's
(03:57):
degrees of flag age out there in the world. When
at what point would Steve Tams start knocking on your
door and telling you to get the thing down and properly,
properly retire it.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah, absolutely, there is a I don't want to say
a militaristic, draconian look at the flag. But yet there is, right,
so unserviceable.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Does the flag without.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Rip or tear look exceedingly weathered? Are the colors faded?
It's time to replace the flag. Aside from that, as
soon as the flag starts to tearing, right and you've
got these frayed ends flying off, or how many have
we seen driving down a road that there's like thirteen
streamers because of flags coming apart, it's like, bring the
(04:43):
thing down. And that's when it's unserviceable is when it
does not look new anymore. Basically, right, it's starting to tear.
Their weather rised, right, they're made out of a nylon
now that they're supposed to take the higher winds and
the rain. But after about two years the sun degrad
anything that it had for some sort of construction that
(05:03):
it just starts to come apart.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Yeah, or sooner. In the case, we fly our flag
every single day at the Thomas Household in the sun
and sometimes the rain. I know you're supposed to be
taking them down at appropriate times and not fly them
at night unless they're illuminated too.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Oh, thank you very much, chi Ching Brian, got it.
I know the rules.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, know why because I've been doing the flag retirement
ceremony for a long years.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
I've got boy Scouts in my head.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
I got it down. At least go back to what
is Flag Day and what is the history behind flag days?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Deep?
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Oh, my gosh, flag Day.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
It is from seventeen seventy seven. I mean, if you
can think about seventeen seventy seven and the recognition of
our American flag extends all the way back to then,
of just the liberty, if you can put yourself in
the revolutionary soldiers and community members of this new nation
(05:54):
and what that flag represented to them. Oh yeah, right, yeah,
today we're taking it for granted. But let's go back
to the beginning and what did it mean to those
beginning settlers to have their first flag approved by the
Second Continental Congress, the thirteen red and white stripes, the
(06:14):
blue field, and the thirteen circling stars.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
And still within memory of the Revolutionary War which brought
about the creation of the flag.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
In seventeen seventy seven, the war still going on. Well,
valid point on that right, seventy six we wrote the independence, Well,
what didn't mean we were independent? We were still fighting
for it until seventy eight.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Valid point.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So there's to raise old Glory, then Young Glory in
seventeen seventy seven. That was a rallying cry. Right, when
you bring a country together behind a single symbol like that,
it's huge.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Well, going back, and you said, I hit the nail
on the head about taking the flag down a night
unless it's illuminated. But are there other rules for flying
a flag outside?
Speaker 1 (06:59):
There is when when.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
The United States flag should never touch the ground, right
that I know. So when you see people bringing a
flag down, it is meant to be caught at the
bottom and not be draped on the ground until you
can unhook it from the morning points. Secondly, some people
pull it down and then they there's a proper folding
technique to retire it for the evening. So flying it outside,
(07:25):
it should never be so large that it's hitting the ground.
It should be illuminated from sunset till sunrise, or take
it down at night. There's so many automatic battery charged
lights that are out there now that.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Are solar powered.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
It's so easy to just have a spotlight on the
flag if it's inconvenient at sunrise or sundown. Even the
branches don't agree when we raise colors or retire them
in the evening. The Marine Corps in the Army do
it at different times.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (07:57):
It is?
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yeah, so the Rine Corps does it, but we take
it down at sunset. I think the Army does it
at sunrise and takes it down at like seventeen hundred. Right,
So you guys fight about right, Oh, absolutely, it's no
different than you and your brothers.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Right.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
No, Mom had two left feet. No, it was that, right,
So it's it's the same type of thing. But yet
it's it's a it's a good argument over how do
we respect this thing and the fact that we are
respecting our flag. So there's a certain premers that come
into flying the flag respectively outside and then it should
always be at the utmost highest peak if you're flying
(08:34):
it with other flags, if another flag pole is next
to it, the American flag should be at the right.
Now who's perspective? Now, if it's the homeowner, the flag
should be on the right and the other state or
federal flag should be on the left. But if I'm
at a church and I walk in and I see
a church flag and I see the American flag, well
(08:56):
where do they go?
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Which side? Do I wear them on? Or do I
post them on.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Well, if it's on the stage with the pastor, the
American flag is to the pastor's right, the church flag
is to his left.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
But if they're forward of the.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Pastor, the colors now represent the congregation. And now I
have to flip the flags that the American flags to
the right and the church flag is on.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The left to start writing things down.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
But this is to give a proper respect of who
it is representing as a group. So as a pastor
on the stage supporting the pastor and the church. The
only time a flag flies higher than the American flag
is during church services aboard a naval vessel.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Okay, And how does that have a How do they
come about with that different rule?
Speaker 1 (09:51):
That is a great question when you don't ask the navy.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
And then here's the swirling question, and maybe a little
too lead dwelling for the purposes of this general discussion
about just having respect for the flag. When do you
fly it at half mass? My wife and I be
driving around in the big flag at half mass. I'm like, well,
maybe somebody in the business that the business owner died,
or someone within the business, because not all the flags
are being flown at half mass. Is there some general
(10:16):
set of rules for that.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
So there's both federal and state.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
So the state can ask, right that everybody fly their
flag at half mass. A state senator passes, the former
governor passes, it's typically someone of previous prominence within the state,
right that the governor wants to recognize. Maybe it was
a state trooper that was killed over a rodent center
or something. Right, And so they'll half mast a flag.
(10:42):
And business owners who are flying the American flag, and
we see large construction companies just have like TQL has
just mammos. We call it a holiday flag. That's the
size of a flag they're flying. Right, So you would
monitor a state website to know when to half mass.
The state's not going to publish to everybody. Oh, by
the way, Joey Johnson down on this roll, did you
(11:03):
know if you have a flag? Right, But the state
has a website that you can go to to view
their directions over flying half mass. And then federally, we
know the federal holidays. And a US senator passes, a
former president passes, there will be a proclamation to fly
the flags at half mass for a determined amount of period.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
All right, All that makes sense to me. I'm still
confused about the whole pastor situation in the church, but
you know, I'm not going to be responsible for that
decision making. Just fly a flag, respect it, take care
of it, retire it when it's appropriate. And I think
any casual observer could look at a flag and know,
one way or another whether it's ready to retire, and
if it is, bring it to the flag retirement ceremony.
(11:44):
Union Townships
Brian Thomas News
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