Legion gets fire pit for flag burnings
A large-scale flag-burning took place Monday evening in North Augusta, with the full blessing of two-high profile organizations, on the grounds of American Legion Post 71.
The veterans have a new feature at their headquarters, courtesy of Eagle Scout Ricky Baldwin, with Boy Scout Troop 7.
For his Eagle service project, Baldwin planned and helped build a fire pit for ceremonial burning of tattered U.S. flags. It was dedicated and used Monday evening, just after sunset.
"The idea was, because they have a new building, they wanted to have a fire pit where they could retire flags, so I volunteered to do it," he said.
"The project far exceeded what I expected," he said, recalling plenty of support from Post 71 as well as Augusta Concrete Block Company.
The project took place in November 2011, with planning having taken up a few months beforehand.
Rex Bell, Post 71's facilities manager, said "The proper way to dispose of an American flag is by having a ceremony and burning the flag."
Post 71 usually has such a gathering at least every six months, depending on the number of flags collected.