PHS Student Builds American Flag Disposal Box as Part of Eagle Scout Project

Alexander Christian, a junior at Puyallup High School and member of Boy Scout Troop #692, recently completed an Eagle Scout project to assist Puyallup School District (PSD) schools in collecting and appropriately retiring American flags when they are worn and no longer able to be displayed.

A few months ago, Alexander contacted our Operations Department with a special proposal regarding the storage and collection of retired flags. His solution? Creating a beautiful wooden box for the Operations team to store the flags in until they could properly be disposed of. Prior to this, the Operations Team did not have an official process for storing and retiring flags, as they would collect in an informal area in the department until someone would take them to the local VFW or other community organization for disposal. Now, flags are collected in the wooden box Alexander designed and built until his Boy Scout troop is notified for pickup.

In general, Boy Scout Troops may choose to retire flags in conjunction with a “Court of Honor” ceremony. After this ceremony, scouts will meet around a campfire, and retire flags by respectfully disposing of them in the fire. The ceremony includes remarks by scout members and current or former military members. Troop 692 holds a Court of Honor ceremony four times a year.

“I am glad to have had the opportunity to work with the school district in order to install a better system for the disposal of American flags across the district,” said Alexander. He also thanked the members of his troop that assisted in the creation of the box, his family who supported him throughout the project, and the Operations office for their cooperation.