St. Cloud Vietnam Veterans Group Installs Four Tattered Flag Dropboxes

ST. CLOUD - The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 290 has put in four flag dropboxes in the St. Cloud area to allow you to easily dispose of your old American flag.

The dropboxes are at St. Cloud City Hall, the Whitney Center, Eastside VFW and Texas Roadhouse restaurant.

Chapter 290 member James Kowitz says there's a proper procedue for burning American flags that many people don't know about. The St. Cloud Fire Department will pick up flags from the dropboxes and will conduct the proper ceremony to burn the flags.

"I don't like seeing flags thrown in the garbage, people just sometimes don't have time to take them to a service organization and they throw them in the garbage."

Kowitz says he got the idea for the dropboxes after hearing about a Vietnam Veterans group in St. Louis who started the program. After sharing the idea with friends and local businesses, it took him less that two days to raise $2,000 for the dropboxes.

Shawn Mason with Texas Roadhouse says the response has been overwhelming at their location so far.

"A few days ago there was a line of cars out there ready to drop off their flags, so it was pretty breathtaking to see the response and commitment to returning the flags."

Chapter 290 president Bob Behrens says they have three other possible locations where they could place more flag dropboxes.

A fundraiser lunch and flag box dedication will be held at Texas Roadhouse on Wednesday (The 10th) for the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 290. Free pork sandwiches will be available from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. You're invited to make a donation while eating your meal. Donations will go directly to support the Vietnam Veterans of America and their programs.