§175. Position and manner of
display
The flag, when carried in a procession with
another flag or flags, should be either on the marching right; that is, the
flag's own right, or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the center
of that line.
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(a) The flag should not be displayed on a float
in a parade except from a staff, or as provided in subsection (i) of this
section. |
(b) The flag should not be draped over the
hood, top, sides, or back of a vehicle or of a railroad train or a boat. When
the flag is displayed on a motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firmly to the
chassis or clamped to the right fender. |
(c) No other flag or pennant should be placed
above or, if on the same level, to the right of the flag of the United States
of America, except during church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea,
when the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church services for
the personnel of the Navy. No person shall display the flag of the United
Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a
position of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the
United States at any place within the United States or any Territory or
possession thereof. Provided, That nothing in this section shall make unlawful
the continuance of the practice heretofore followed of displaying the flag of
the United Nations in a position of superior prominence or honor, and other
national flags in positions of equal prominence or honor, with that of the flag
of the United States at the headquarters of the United Nations. |
(d) The flag of the United States of America,
when it is displayed with another flag against a wall from crossed staffs,
should be on the right, the flag's own right, and its staff should be in front
of the staff of the other flag.
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(e) The flag of the United States of America should be at
the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of
States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from
staffs. |
(f) When flags of States, cities, or
localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the
flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the
flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be
hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the
flag of the United States or to the United States flag's right. |
(g) When flags of two or more
nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same
height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International usage
forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in
time of peace.
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(h) When the flag of the United
States is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from
the window sill, balcony, or front of a building, the union of the flag should
be placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half staff.
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When the flag is suspended over a
sidewalk from a rope extending from a house to a pole at the edge of the
sidewalk, the flag should be hoisted out, union first, from the
building. |
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(i) When displayed either
horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to
the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a
window, the flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue
field to the left of the observer in the street.
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(j) When the flag is displayed over the
middle of the street, it should be suspended vertically with the union to the
north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and south
street.
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(k) When used on a speaker's platform,
the flag, if displayed flat, should be displayed above and behind the speaker.
When displayed from a staff in a church or public auditorium, the flag of the
United States of America should hold the position of superior prominence, in
advance of the audience, and in the position of honor at the clergyman's or
speaker's right as he faces the audience. Any other flag so displayed should be
placed on the left of the clergyman or speaker or to the right of the
audience. |
(l) The flag should form a distinctive
feature of the ceremony of unveiling a statue or monument, but it should never
be used as the covering for the statue or monument.
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(m) The flag, when flown at half-staff,
should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the
half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is
lowered for the day. On Memorial Day the flag should be displayed at half-staff
until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff. By order of the
President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff upon the death of principal
figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory,
or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory. In the event of the death
of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at
half-staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance
with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law. In the event of
the death of a present or former official of the government of any State,
territory, or possession of the United States, the Governor of that State,
territory, or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at
half-staff. The flag shall be flown at half-staff thirty days from the death of
the President or a former President; ten days from the day of death of the Vice
President, the Chief Justice or a retired Chief Justice of the United States,
or the Speaker of the House of Representatives; from the day of death until
interment of an Associate justice of the Supreme Court, a Secretary of an
executive or military department, a former Vice President, or the Governor of a
State, territory, or possession; and on the day of death and the following day
for a Member of Congress. As used in this subsection
(1) the term "half-staff" means the
position of the flag when it is one-half the distance between the top and
bottom of the staff;
(2) the term "executive or military
department" means any agency listed under sections 101 and 102 of title 5,
United States Code; and
(3) the term "Member of Congress" means a
Senator, a Representative, a Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner from Puerto
Rico. |
(n) When the flag is used to
cover a casket, it should be so placed that the union is at the head and over
the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to
touch the ground. |
(o) When the flag is suspended across a
corridor or lobby in a building with only one main entrance, it should be
suspended vertically with the union of the flag to the observer's left upon
entering. If the building has more than one main entrance, the flag should be
suspended vertically near the center of the corridor or lobby with the union to
the north, when entrances are to the east and west or to the east when
entrances are to the north and south. If there are entrances in more than two
directions, the union should be to the east. |
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