Eagle Scout projects helps retire flags in Daphne

By Kara Mautz
Reporter
Posted 1/25/23

DAPHNE — Middle school is often a busy time in a kid's life, long days full of bustling schedules and challenging transitions.Grayson Peacock, an eighth-grader at Daphne Middle School, will be …

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Eagle Scout projects helps retire flags in Daphne

Posted

DAPHNE — Middle school is often a busy time in a kid's life, long days full of bustling schedules and challenging transitions.

Grayson Peacock, an eighth-grader at Daphne Middle School, will be spending his last year there balancing his school workload and efforts in giving back to his community as a Boy Scout.

Peacock recently reached a milestone in leading his Eagle Scout Project as part of Troop 5087 and is collaborating with the mayor of Daphne, Robin LeJeune, and the Daphne Public Library.

The project focuses on collecting and retiring old, tattered and faded American flags, which can be donated in boxes located at both Daphne City Hall and the Daphne Public Library.

Peacock said his inspiration for the project came from his own gratitude for the U.S. military and a desire to make it more accessible for citizens of his community to properly retire their flags.

"We looked at other cities with retirement boxes and saw that their Boy Scout troops were overcrowded with flags," Peacock said. "I had the idea to create more opportunities to retire flags."

Peacock proposed his idea to LeJeune and after planning out the details of the project worked to collaborate with City Hall and the library to house the donation boxes.

Peacock said his neighbor, fellow Daphne resident John Thomas, also helped him with the project, lending his carpentry skills to cut and build the donation boxes.

According to Peacock, each box will be permanently located inside the buildings but will be checked every few weeks and brought to Hughes Funeral Home in Daphne or to other Boy Scout troops to be officially retired.

According to Hughes Funeral Home's website, the retirement process consists of draping the donated flag with the veteran during the cremation process, if the family wishes.

"This gives the flag one last great duty in a most dignified manner and honors both the veteran's service to their country and the American Flag," according to the funeral home's website.

According to Peacock, retiring American flags is one of many opportunities and responsibilities provided to Boy Scouts and Eagle Scouts.

"I am most excited about finishing the project and reading all of the comments from the community [on Facebook]," Peacock said. "I am also excited to see how many flags have been donated in the boxes when I check them."