A father and son are at the forefront of Rancho Santa Margarita’s Flag Day ceremony

Parker Clements turned his key in the deposit bin at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center, then opened the door and began extracting the contents — some faded, some torn and dirty, some wadded in plastic bags from a grocery store and casino.

A few feet behind, his father, Jim Clements, helped unfold the battered American flags and examine them for possible back stories. The key word, of course, was “possible.”

None of the flags relinquished in the bin near Rancho Santa Margarita City Hall had any identification regarding former owners or locations, although the elder Clements had enough experience with retired flags that he could play detective up to a point.

He pulled from the pile a frayed Old Glory with multiple signs of wear: loose threads, red stripes that had faded to orange, bird droppings streaking one side

“More than likely, it was under an eave somewhere, to that effect, where the birds are sitting on top of it,” he said. “Definitely sun — been out there a long time. You can’t tell what year it was made or anything, but it’s definitely been sitting out there a long time.”

Sunday, that flag — from whomever and wherever — will probably be among those landing in the fire during the 10th annual Flag Day ceremony at Rancho Santa Margarita’s civic center. Each year, Clements, the city’s unofficial flag caretaker, leads a ceremony during which dozens of retired Stars and Stripes meet a revered end.

That entails lighting them up, but with etiquette. The national flag code declares that a U.S. 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.”

For the last decade, that’s been a personal mission for Clements, and this year, his son made a special contribution to the effort: The bin at the city’s Bell Tower Regional Community Center was 14-year-old Parker’s Eagle Scout project.

How many flags have landed in the bin, which was installed in February? Parker, a freshman at Trabuco Hills High School, could only say that he has made multiple trips to empty it.

“Just last week, it was overflowing, and the city called us to come get it,” he said.

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‘This is home’

If the Clementses ever wanted to curate an exhibition about the history of the U.S. flag, they would have decent materials to get started.

In the family’s Rancho Santa Margarita home, Jim Clements keeps a wool 48-star flag — a relic more than a half-century old that he plucked from a disposal box. (Before Parker donated his bin, the city made do with makeshift containers.) A modern printing of the original 13-star design, known as a Bennington flag, hangs elsewhere in the house.

Judging from the size and condition of the relinquished flags, Jim Clements supposes that he’s handled onetime decorations from any number of places: boats, cars, frontyards, even graves. At one Flag Day ceremony, a man showed up to retire the flag that had draped over his father’s military casket.

Clements, an Indiana native who served with the Navy from 1979 to 1999, gained an added appreciation for the Stars and Stripes during deployments.

“Overseas, it’s really unique,” said Clements, who works as director of education and training for Extron Electronics in Anaheim. “Because this is home. You go to all these different countries and it’s like, no matter how bad it is or how good it is, there’s nothing better than coming around the corner and seeing the red, white and blue.”

After moving to Rancho Santa Margarita in 1999, Clements became involved with the local Boy Scouts, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. One day, on a whim, he approached the city and offered his services.

“I decided, I’m going to help the city take care of their flags,” he said. “I went out there one day, and I don’t remember what holiday it was. I said, ‘Hey, I’ll help you guys out. Give me the key. I’ll make sure they’re always half-mast whenever they’re supposed to be, doing whatever they’ve got to do, when they’re supposed to be done.’”

Clements got the volunteer job, and he quickly realized that he could perform another service for the city: retire its flags, something he had often done with the Boy Scouts. Rancho Santa Margarita held its first Flag Day ceremony in 2006, and from the beginning, Clements made it as democratic as possible: Attendees could bring their own flags from home to lay gently in the fire.

Judi Russi, the community services coordinator for the city, said Clements’ flag collecting and ceremony have become institutions.

Though the ceremony is held only once a year, flag drop-offs occur “year-round, not even near Flag Day,” she said. “It’s gotten to where people know they can bring their flags here.”

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A six-second thanks

When the ceremony begins Sunday, the Clementses plan to begin the way they always do: with a single flag and a pair of scissors.

Here is how the event generally goes: As the fire rages, an American Legion official inspects the flag and declares it ready for retirement before saluting it. (American Legion Saddleback Valley Post 862 and Boy Scout Troop 623 are the event’s official organizers.) Then, the elder Clements and his Scouts separate one flag into its colors and explain to the crowd what they symbolize: blue for truth and justice, white for purity, red for blood spilled.

Afterward, the procession begins. The ceremony’s organizers give the remaining discarded flags to spectators, who form a queue to set them in the blaze. Music accompanies the burning, as Clements plays “Amazing Grace” on his bagpipes or a bugler sounds “Taps.”

Though the flag code calls for disposing of flags “in a dignified way,” that phrase is open to interpretation. Clements, for his part, can rattle off a list of protocols.

If a flag has grommets — small metal rings on the side — he and his team will cut them out with scissors and gift them to people who have served the community. The flag should be laid in the fire carefully, not chucked. For that matter, when Clements’ Boy Scout troop retires an Old Glory in the fire, it does not use the fire afterward to cook s’mores; the group starts a new blaze for that.

Clements, who founded Troop 727 in 2012, makes sure to stress the reasons for that reverence.

The Friday before Memorial Day, Clements’ Scouts joined another local troop and conducted an annual tradition: walking through El Toro Memorial Park in Lake Forest and placing flags on any gravestone that indicated veteran status. Before the Scouts headed out, Clements read them a speech by Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Kelly titled “The Last Six Seconds,” which details the last moments of two American troops killed in Iraq.

“I have asked the Scouts today, ‘Every time you find a grave, spend six seconds and say thanks,’” Clements said.

If You Go

What: 10th annual Flag Day ceremony

Where: Rancho Santa Margarita City Hall, 22112 El Paseo

When: 7:45 p.m. Sunday

Cost: Free

Information: (949) 216-9700 or https://www.cityofrsm.org