Over 150 American flags laid to rest in annual retirement ceremony

ELKHART, Ind. -- Today, July 7, over 150 American flags were properly retired today at Simonton Lake, in their annual flag retirement ceremony.

Hundreds came out to this small island where veterans performed a 21-gun salute, playing of the taps, singing of America the Beautiful, with a flyover closing out the ceremony. 

"It's very important to a lot of us because you know, the flag when it flies, it symbolizes our freedom. And of course, it gets beat up by the weather and the wind and, and so it gets quite tattered. And so, to retire properly means so much to a lot of us, because now we know this flag can rest," stated Bob Evans, the organizer of the ceremony.

Evans continues, "I defended the flag, and so I'm gonna retire it the right way. And I've got a lot of people that believe that way with me and veterans and non-veterans that get involved in this every year. And so it's been great. And it's something I look forward to doing."

Once the flags are left as only ashes, Evans says they will bury the ashes properly, putting the American flags to rest.