Why We Do What We Do

According to the United States Flag Code: The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. The Smoke Brothers, who run Operation Fallen Flags and make up the crew of The Glory Truck, take those words very seriously.

Those words mean that when a U.S. flag becomes tattered, torn, weather-beaten, or otherwise unfit for duty, it should be properly retired – not just thrown in the trash.

Unfortunately, many people who fly the flag don’t always notice when their flag has become worn out, and often aren’t sure what to do when they finally notice it.

That’s why the Smoke Brothers do what they do. When they notice a U.S. flag that is no longer “a fitting emblem for display,” they will contact the owner of the flag, and offer to retire the worn-out flag and replace it with a new one.

The crew will roll up in The Glory Truck in all its red-white-and-blue glory – ride the truck’s 30-foot boom into the air, take down the old flag, replace it with a new one – and properly store the old flag until it’s time to retire it during their Flag Day ceremony at the LZ Peace Memorial at Midway Village in Rockford, Illinois.

Operation Fallen Flags has retired and replaced American flags at people’s houses and at small businesses in and around Rockford.

We are grateful to our friends at Lou Bachrodt Auto Mall, Trickie Enterprises, Automotive Solutions, Rockford Spring Company, Rockfish Auto Body Shop, Ken Nelson Design, Rockford Litho, Lonnie’s StoneCrafters, Bove’s Garage, Nicholson Electric, Geostar Paragraphics, the Rockford Register Star, Teeccino Herbal Coffee and Tea, Signs Now, TV stations WREX, WTVO, WIFR, and WQRF – and many others.