10/19/2026
On Saturday October 17 the quarterly flag retirement workshop and ceremony for Howard County was held at the Ellicott City VFW. Approximately 30 individuals from numerous veterans organizations, Scouts, Cub Scouts, Sons of the American Revolution Charles Carroll of Carrollton chapter, and the DAR gathered to separate the stars from the stripes of around 20 large plastic bags of tattered and faded U.S. flags. Then a solemn ceremony was held to individually retire the separate elements of one representative flag to the fire: 13 stripes and the blue field of 50 stars. The remainder will be respectfully burned at a commercial facility.