Mark Anderson begins weekly flag retirement by opening garbage bags stuffed with dozens — sometimes hundreds — of U.S. flags, widely understood to symbolize liberty, equality, justice and self-government. Anderson places them into an incinerator.
The flags may have been stored or displayed anywhere in Summit County. Porches and living rooms; flagpoles and stadiums; courthouses and gravesites. Anderson separates them by size. Then he mixes nylon flags with cotton ones — the fabric combination allows them to burn better.
Once a barrel is filled, Anderson and David Burden, a project manager at the Veterans Service Commission of Summit County, fold a large, tattered flag. The flag is then met with a salute, placed on top of the pile in the barrel and honored with a moment of silence…