I met the most interesting ex-Marine the other day. He contacted me to tell me about a special project he's been working on for several years. It came about when he realized that while there were flag retirement ceremonies, there didn't seem to be a special place where folks could go to dispose of worn flags according to the proper protocol.
He took his idea to Allegheny County and the result is a beautiful spot in South Park near Pittsburgh, PA where folks can come for ceremonial purposes, to leave off worn flags and to sit and contemplate our connection as Americans.
Designed with the help of John Kovach, Jr., a former Marine and sergeant first class in the Pennsylvania National Guard, the hexagonal plaza is surrounded by seven flag poles - one for each branch of the military and one for the American flag - with a burn pit in the center. A deposit box on the site allows visitors to leave soiled, damaged and tattered flags to be incinerated during future ceremonies.
That's me posing with John Kovach and Craig Rizzo, another ex-Marine with two tours in Iraq. We are standing in front of a wall that will one day be covered with a ceramic mozaic. John also dreams of six-foot figurines donated by different people to represent the various services -- as well as memorial flagstones around the hexagon.
For more information, check out "Dawn's Early Light" Flag Retirement Plaza.
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