June 14 is the traditional anniversary date for flags. On June 14, 1777 the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Act, describing the American flag. On the same date in 1885, Wisconsin schoolteacher B.J. Cigrand declared students should fly the flag to recognize its importance, a move that was subsequently heralded as the start of Flag Day.

And on Aug. 3, 1949, President Harry Truman signed an act of Congress that set every June 14 as National Flag Day.

In South Park, today it's the one-year anniversary of the establishment of the "By Dawn's Early Light" flag retirement area on Brownsville Road.

Allegheny County Council members will celebrate the holiday and the anniversary with a Flag Day flag retirement ceremony today at 6:30 p.m., in the plaza, behind the Children's Theatre on Brownsville Road.

Each branch of the service will have its own ceremony, which will make the event a tribute to the military in addition to the flag, said County Council member Vince Gastgeb.

The idea for the space, which came from Bethel Park resident John Kovach and was implemented by Mr. Gastgeb, was to create an area to burn the flag properly and according to the proper military procedure.

"Our flag represents all we are as a nation," said Mr. Kovach, 53. "The flag blankets us all. And if we don't respect her, we don't respect our nation."

He said he has always referred to the flag with feminine pronouns. "She's the mother of a nation. When our nation was born, so was she."

The retirement site is a circular area with a fire pit in the middle surrounded by benches and flag poles.

"We think this is the only one of its kind in the state and potentially the whole country," said Mr. Gastgeb, who believes more than 1,000 flags have been properly retired there, some by the Boy Scouts, the American Legion and other groups that apply for free permits through the county's recreation department.

Other groups have also gone there to use it without a permit, he said, so it's impossible to know exactly how many flags have been retired.

"Hopefully, people will walk away and gain a bigger appreciation for what the flag is," Mr. Kovach said.

Mr. Kovach, who spent 22 years in the military, in the United States Marine Corps, the Marine Corps reserves and the Army National Guard, said there is no one way to retire a flag, "as long as you do it in a ceremonial, courteous and respectful manner."

The United States Flag Code simply says: "The 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."

He said it takes skill to do it though, because many flags are all-weather nylon.

"When they incinerate, they go up really quickly," he said.

The Boy Scouts have a specific scripted ceremony to retire the flag, which involves methodically cutting it before placing it in a wood fire.

Mr. Gastgeb estimates the area costs about $50,000 to install but costs very little in upkeep, with the exception of maintaining the area, such as cutting the grass.

Mr. Kovach said the site is not completed. He hopes to secure more grant money to have a mural painted on its back wall with some sort of patriotic theme. He also would like to add some sort of ground vault to make burying the flag's ashes easier.

He also wants to honor captured soldiers by organizing ceremonies to retire prisoner-of-war flags.

In the meantime, he has heard that lawmakers are contemplating legislation that would make it illegal to burn the United States flag in protest.

"I hear things about this national flag amendment," he said, his voice sounding disgusted. "Yes we need one and no, we shouldn't need one."