Column: Fiasco good time to brush up on flag etiquette, remember meaning behind symbol

“Rep. [Mark] Nakashima’s legacy of service, dedication to education and commitment to sustainable energy will continue to inspire us all,” said Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green after it was announced July 11 that the 61-year-old Big Island state lawmaker had died. “He was a gentle yet fierce advocate for the residents of Hawai‘i, and we honor his memory and his contributions to our community and state.”

Green, a resident of Kaʻū, was a colleague of Nakashima’s in the Hawai‘i Legislature. After serving in the state House from 2004 to 2008, he was elected as a state senator and served there from 2008 to 2018.

Nakashima, a Honokaʻa Dragon for life, was first elected in 2008 to the state House District 1 seat, which represents Hāmākua, Kaʻūmana and a portion of Hilo. Nakashima was even seeking another 2-year term at the time of his death, running unopposed in this year’s election cycle.

The governor honored his fellow Big Islander and late lawmaker’s dedicated public service and commitment to community and state, which Green said was evident in his work and leadership, by ordering the U.S. and Hawaiʻi state flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise July 12 until sunset today at all state offices and agencies and the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard.

It seems like such a small and simple way to show respect and honor for such an esteemed government official — almost a given for someone who Green and his colleagues, family, friends and constituents say leaves behind a legacy of leadership and community advocacy.

So reading in an email — and seeing in a submitted photo — sent to Big Island Now that the flags at Kona Community Aquatic Center were still flying full-mast Saturday, despite the governor’s flag order, was curious.

Especially when the order was being observed at other government buildings around the Big Island, including the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, as seen in another submitted photo.

Why would the order not be followed at just one government building? Is there a penalty for not complying with a governor’s flag order? Are there rules or laws pertaining to the display and use of the U.S. flag?

Those were just a few of the questions that came to mind when that email and those pictures popped into my inbox during the weekend. So I started searching and reaching out to officials for answers.

Gov. Green’s Deputy Chief of Staff Lori Abe said his office doesn’t receive flag order complaints very often at all.

Hawai‘i County Parks and Recreation Director Maurice Messina also said that, as far as he is aware, the flag fiasco at the Kona pool is an isolated incident. He has never received a notice or complaint about any of his department’s facilities not following flag orders.

So if anything, I thought it would be a good chance to learn about flag etiquette.

Before we get into it, the flags were lowered by Monday morning at the Kona pool, as seen in a photo sent by the Kona resident who let us know about the situation. County officials also said the flags were not left at full mast on purpose.

The email came from a regular user of the aquatic center who noticed the flag flop and found it disrespectful that the facility was not in compliance — not only to the late Nakashima but to the men and women who fought to defend our country and the principles and freedoms upon which it was founded.

He did mention it to other swimmers but said no one else seemed to be that concerned or upset.

The email writer said he’s used the pool since 2003 and this wasn’t the first time the flags there have not been lowered to half-staff when an order was issued. He said he has mentioned it to county officials including Mayor Mitch Roth and others in the past, but received no response and nothing was done.

Messina said this was the first time he’d heard about the facility not following flag orders.

My first question: Do the flags have to be lowered at county buildings? After all, the governor’s order says only at “all state offices and agencies.”

Yes. Section 7f of the U.S. Flag Code states that no other flag or pennant can be displayed above the U.S. flag. Therefore, when the U.S. flag is flown at half-staff, other non-national flags should also be flown at the same level.

That actually answered another question, too, whether there was an actual law surrounding the use and display of the U.S. flag. There is.

Laws related to the flag are detailed in federal code, which was established to inform civilians and civilian groups or organizations of how the flag should be treated.

Flag manufacturer Gettysburg Flag Works says: “It is intended to provide guidance and is not obligatory. It carries no civil or criminal penalties for ‘misuse’ of the flag. Individuals are not acting illegally when using the flag according to their own rules. The flag code is only required to be followed on public or government buildings.”

That brought up my next inquiry. If it’s required to be followed on government buildings, if it’s not, are there penalties?

According to Toni Schwartz, public information officer with the Hawai‘i Department of the Attorney General, state law does not list any penalty or enforcement mechanism for not following a flag-lowering order.

And the American Legion website says the flag code just lays out guidelines for proper flag etiquette. There are no penalties for violating any of its provisions.

There also actually is no mention of any penalty or violation in the code itself either.

“When we receive a flag order from the governor’s office, we send out an email to all of our divisions, including cemetery staff, to ensure that the order is followed,” Messina said Monday morning. “Unfortunately, mistakes do sometimes happen.”

With a department of more than 500 personnel and 300-plus facilities, perfection isn’t always possible. That doesn’t mean, however, Messina and his staff don’t strive for it.

“As a [U.S.] Navy veteran, I take pride in our department following all flag protocols, including the nighttime flying protocols of our flags, so I take personal responsibility for this isolated incident, and we will ensure our communication gets better within our department,” he said.

Messina’s Navy service included numerous capacities ranging from combat to the Judge Advocate General, or JAG, Corps as a legal specialist, where he earned his degree in criminal justice. He also is a current mentor with the Big Island Veterans Treatment Court.

“Rep. Nakashima was a friend and staunch supporter of the Hawai‘i County Parks Department and no disrespect was intended,” Messina said.

Cyrus Johnasen, Roth’s executive assistant, said: “The mayor’s office stands behind director Messina’s statements.”

“As soon as this was brought to my attention, I contacted our aquatics supervisor and the flags were flown in accordance with the governor’s order,” Messina said. “We also completed an inventory of all of our sites islandwide today that have either flags or flagpoles to ensure everyone is on our internal distribution list so that a situation like this will not repeat.”

As sunset approaches and the flag order nears its end, it makes sense why this situation would be seen as disrespectful. However, in this writer’s honest opinion, with no ill intent behind the flags being forgotten and no penalties to be assessed, it’s a better time to focus on the meaning behind the flag.

There’s so much to divide us today — a former U.S. president was shot in an apparent assassination attempt during the weekend — that symbols such as the U.S. flag shouldn’t be used to further those causes. Instead, they should bring us together like they are intended.

The actual origins of the first American flag are unknown, but I think we’ve all heard the story that it was sewn by Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross.

Old Glory has inspired many.

Perhaps most notably our national anthem, which was written by amateur poet Francis Scott Key in September 1814 after he was inspired by the sight of the flag still flying over Baltimore’s Fort McHenry following a British bombardment during the American Revolution.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” officially became the national anthem in 1931.

The flag also was what inspired The Pledge of Allegiance, written in 1892 by James B. Upham and Francis Bellamy and first published in a magazine called The Youth’s Companion.

Old Glory can be found in some of the most remote places on Earth, including at the top of Mount Everest. It was placed there in 1963 by Berry Bishop. It’s even in outer space. Neil Armstrong posted the U.S. flag on the moon in July 1969 during one of six manned moon landings as part of the Apollo program.

“There’s probably no bigger symbol for patriotism in the U.S. than the American flag,” says the Wounded Warrior Project on its website. “We pledge our allegiance to it at school, government meetings and citizenship ceremonies. We wave the symbol of freedom and liberty at parades and sporting events and even planted it on the moon.”

So let’s honor the legacy of Big Island state Rep. Mark Nakashima — and all those who came before him who served, fought and died for our rights, freedoms and way of life — by coming together and committing and dedicating ourselves to serve our communities, state and nation — our cultures and society — to make them better places for all.

That’s what celebrating a symbol of freedom like the U.S. flag is all about.

This is the opinion of Big Island Now writer Nathan Christophel and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Big Island Now or Pacific Media Group.