How to fold the U.S. Flag
As an Army and Navy custom,
the flag is lowered daily at the last note of retreat. Special care
should be taken that no part of the flag touches the ground. The Flag is
then carefully folded into the shape of a tri-cornered hat, emblematic
of the hats worn by colonial soldiers during the war for Independence.
In the folding, the red and white stripes are finally wrapped into the
blue, as the light of day vanishes into the darkness of night.
This custom of special folding is reserved for the United
States Flag alone.
| Step 1: Hold the flag waist high with another person
so that its surface is parallel to the ground. |
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Step 2: Fold the lower half of the stripe section
lengthwise over the field of stars, holding the bottom and top
edges securely. |
| Step 3: Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue
field on the outside. |
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Step 4: Make a triangular fold by bringing the
striped corner of the folded edge to meet the open (top) edge of
the flag. |
| Step 5: Turn the outer (end) point inward, parallel
to the open edge, to form a second triangle. |
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Step 6: The triangular folding is continued until the
entire length of the flag is folded in this manner. |
| Step 7: When the flag is completely folded, only a
triangular blue field of stars should be visible. |
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