By Mike Finney

BETHANY BEACH — Flying an American flag holds a lot more responsibility than just attaching Old Glory to a rope and hoisting it up a flagpole.

That’s what gets Bill Murphy, a veteran and a resident of Ocean View, so riled up when he drives by flag displays and believes they are often improperly arranged.

He has accused the town offices of Bethany Beach and Millsboro, and other organizations and businesses in Sussex County, of often flying their flags against the rules and etiquette of displaying the red, white and blue.

“We’re going back and forth,” Mr. Murphy said, of he and Bethany Beach town leaders. “I don’t know what’s wrong with them down there. I think they’re doing it on spite.

“The book says that the state flag can be below the U.S. flag, which most people put it halfway down, and they’ve got it about three inches. You’ve got to really look at it to see that it is below the U.S. flag.

“But every once in a while, it is halfway down, so they do it right sometimes, but not most of the time.”

While Mr. Murphy’s concern for correctly displaying the American flag is admirable, the U.S. Flag Code does offer two different takes on the situation.

It states that, “The American flag should be flown higher than lesser flags. If the flags are displayed on the same level, the American flag should be flown to the (flag’s own) right of all other flags. The right is a position of prominence.”

Rosemary Hardiman, Bethany Beach’s mayor and town council member, said city leaders have discussed the position of the American flag at Bethany’s Town Hall with Mr. Murphy.

“We thought we had resolved that by getting the commander of the VFW in to explain to him that it was fine,” Ms. Hardiman said, of the flag’s position at Bethany Beach. “Title 4, Section 7 (of the Flag Code) says that ‘When flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first, and no such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States.’

“So, they could be even, but with ours the state flag is lower than the United States flag. I just checked it and the Delaware flag is actually about a foot lower than the American flag.”

There is nothing in the Flag Code that says how much lower other flags should be placed when flown adjacent to the American flag.

Dave Skocik, president of the Delaware Veterans Coalition, also pointed out that the American flag can be flown with other flags — of states, communities or societies — on separate flag poles which are of the same height and in a straight line.

The biggest distinction is not necessarily the height of the flags — though no other flag should ever be placed above the American flag — but that the flag of the United States is always placed in the position of honor, to its own right, which is the observer’s left.

“When the American flag is flown with other flags it should be on the left of the other flags — in the first position,” Mr. Skocik said.

There are many flag displays that often put the American flag higher than the other ones around it. The biggest rule or regulation about it would be “no other flag should be flown higher than the American flag.”

For example, at the Kent County Veterans Memorial Park in Dover, the Delaware flag is flown along with the POW/MIA flag, with the American in the middle and on the highest pole.

The American flag display at the Kent County Veterans Memorial Park is designed to show respect for veterans and the sacrifices they have made in times of war and crisis for the United States.

The 13 stripes on the American flag represent the original 13 Colonies that declared independence from England while the 50 stars symbolize the current 50 United States. The color white signifies purity and innocence; red signifies valor and bravery; and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.

The American flag is a lasting symbol of freedom and sacrifice, and perhaps there is nothing more solemn than seeing a flag-draped casket returning to the United States carrying the body of a fallen soldier.

That is why Mr. Murphy still maintains his belief that the American flag should always be flown higher than other flags, such as the State of Delaware’s, and the U.S. Flag Code does back him up on that.

“I’m a veteran and down here in Sussex County even the state flags are wrong — (Delaware State Police) Troop 4 on (U.S.) 113 is wrong, they have them the same height,” he said. “They are not supposed to be at the same height.

“All I’m asking is that you lower the (state) flag a few more inches so people can see that it’s lower than the U.S. flag. I don’t know why that’s so hard or too much to ask for.”