Elks clubs host annual salute to American flag

Flag Day will be celebrated this year aboard the USS Missouri on Ford Island.

The Saturday observance by Hawaii Elks clubs will include the presentation of historic flags by Boy Scout Troop 180 and patriotic music by the Pacific Fleet Band Brass Quintet.

Attendees will receive American flags as souvenirs.

The free ceremony, which is open to the public, will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. Attendees with military or federal government identification cards can drive onto Ford Island.

Civilians must take a free shuttle from the USS Bowfin Museum. Shuttles will start running at 8 a.m. and will run approximately every 15 minutes throughout the day. No purses, large bags or large camera cases will be allowed on the trolley or aboard the ship.

After the ceremony, a reception will be held at the Pearl City Elks Lodge, 98-761 Oihana Place (across from Buzz’s Steak House).

Hawaii has five Elks lodges. The fraternal order and social club started its own Flag Day in 1907. In 1947, President Harry Truman, an Elks member, declared National Flag Day to occur annually on June 14.