Old Glory gets a little help

Bennett Raley didn't hesitate to prop up Old Glory when a breeze blew it over during the dedication of a key Utah water-delivery project in Diamond Fork Canyon.

At Thursday's event, during which state and federal officials hailed the completion of the Central Utah Project's $150 million Upper Diamond Fork pipeline, which will funnel water from the Colorado River to the Wasatch Front, the crowd gasped when the flag started to topple.

A bystander grabbed the flag before it could hit the ground.

He set the flag back up, then took his seat. Then Raley, a top official of the U.S. Department of the Interior, stepped from his spot and held the flag steady as it fluttered in the breeze.

ROTC cadets from Brigham Young University soon stepped forward to take turns holding the flag upright until the end of the ceremony.

Good thing the bystander had quick reflexes.

Without the catch, that American flag would have, well, hit the dust.

Proper flag etiquette followed by the U.S. military dictates that the American flag should never touch anything beneath it, including the ground.

Boy Scouts, who often are asked to do flag ceremonies at public events, also are taught those flag-handling rules.

"Boy Scouts are taught to respect the flag and how to properly display it, retrieve it and retire it," Scout executive Tom Powell of the Utah National Parks Council said.

Boy Scout Troop 999 conducted retirement ceremonies as part of the activities of America's Freedom Festival at Provo, where several old flags were burned, which is the proper way to dispose of a torn, tattered or worn flag.

Here are some more rules:

• To honor the dead the flag should be raised to full staff, then lowered to half staff. After the death of a president or former president the flag should remain at half staff for 30 days, which is why flags should remain at half staff through today to honor the late President Ronald Reagan. Decorative flags that are fixed to a stick cannot and should not be lowered to half staff. On Memorial Day the flag should be flown at half staff until noon.

• Only one flag should be displayed on a vehicle, preferably the right fender, and removed at night.

• Don't lay a flag horizontal on any surface, except for military caskets or the deck of a military ship.