(L to r): Boy Scout Troop 603 Members Brandon LaSalle and Austin Jaramillo.
Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Elks Lodge”) participated in the Elks Orange Coast District annual American Flag retirement ceremony recently held at the Huntington Beach Lodge.
Elk Lodge members prepared hundreds of worn and tattered flags for proper disposal using military fold procedures. The flags are dropped off at the Elks Lodge by Elk members and the general public. Members of Boy Scout Troop 603 also helped fold the flags in preparation of their retirement. The ten lodges in the Elks Orange Coast District retire thousands of American Flags each year.
Elks Lodge Exalted Ruler Pat Martino said, “It is a very moving experience to witness the proper retirement of worn out and tattered American Flags. As the symbol of the United States of America, these flags are retired with dignity and honor.”
The Mission Viejo / Saddleback Elks Lodge No. 2444, celebrating forty (40) years of service to the Saddleback Valley communities, is one of ten lodges in the Orange Coast District of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) whose headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. The BPOE is a charitable organization with a 142 year history of giving, “Elks Care, Elks Share.”
