Evening Colors on the Home Front

I bought a flag at WAL MART July 3rd of this year. I was standing by the display in line and noticed the package said made in USA. As we all know, that is a rare statement for a product sold in WAL MART. I remembered my father had a flagpole and an old, faded flag on a shelf. I decided to a) support American made products and b) give my dad a nice treat for Independence Day.

The next morning I noticed the cord on the flagpole was badly weathered and likely to break when we tried to raise the flag. First step was to walk down to the store and buy a new nylon lanyard for the mast (Navy talk for the cord.)

My older brother stopped by that morning and we chatted for a while but soon it was time to raise the flag. I had to tip my hand early because I needed help with the cord change. It turned out to be another bonding moment as the men worked together to solve the problem of changing out the cord. Dad figured out a good way to splice the two ends and we were thrilled when the new cord passed through the pulley at the top without the old line breaking.

Up went Old Glory for the first time in more than a year. That evening I discovered the dilemma that still puzzles me today. What time does the flag come down?

We all recall the service had set regulations about when to hoist the colors and when to retire them. We all go up at 0800. The precise timing of retiring the colors varies by service. My dad recently reminded me that in the Army, retreat was 1700 every day. I remember the sound of a cannon echoing across the base every evening. We would all stop and hold at attention until the next cannon sound signaled “carry on.” This applied even for driving on a remote road on base.

In the Navy we held sunset retreat. Consequently the timing of evening colors depended on season and latitude on the globe. The Air Force raises the flag at 0700 and retires it at 1600. The question is when does the flag come down on a civilian flagpole?

Now, I know it could stay up as long as we set up lights to illuminate it through the night. I’m not likely to do that given current energy costs. I still follow my Navy habit of hoisting the national ensign at 0800. When it comes down varies. For the most part I lower it after dinner as long as there’s still light out.

Then there’s the uniform. The prescribed uniform of the day was also set by the Deck orders, or the Orders of the Day. But what should I wear at home? I feel wearing a tee shirt and slippers is “inappropriate” but who’s going to notice? I will. It just feels wrong. A hat of some sort seems needed, as well.

There’s no music (outside of my head) but I still whistle retreat softly while I lower the flag. The flagpole is in front of the front door at the end of a short walk from the sidewalk. It’s hard not to pivot on that sharp turn coming out of the garage.

In the end, I settled on:

- Stepping off on the left foot then left flank to the flag.
- Salute when wearing a hat then release the lanyard.
- Lower the colors solemnly then secure the lanyard.
- I don’t do an about face, but a right face usually gets me going.
- I pivot into the garage and lay the flag out on the trunk of the car. That allows me to fold the flag without assistance.

Every evening I bring the tightly folded flag into the living room and set it above the television. It fits well surrounded by all the family pictures, so many of them in uniform.

My routine might not be perfect but it seems right. And it’s comforting to have colors a part of my daily routine again. I feel tied to my fellow servicemen once again, knowing that somewhere, all around the globe, thousands of flags are going up and coming down every day.