Cozad Insurance Group is offering one free U.S. flag per household in exchange for old, weathered ones. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

The visual of the American flag is unmistakable — red and white alternating stripes to symbolize the original 13 colonies, blue rectangle in the canton with 50 white stars for each of the states. Many are made from nylon and polyester, intended to be displayed proudly outside of homes.

Unfortunately, like many pieces of fabrics, the American flag is prone to being worn out and faded in color, oftentimes from weather elements. An East Texas insurance agency is doing its part to make sure the worn and tattered flags have a place to retire.

“We started as a way to give back to the community and help people with getting new flags and properly retire their tattered and worn flags,” said Jeremy Cozad, owner of Cozad Insurance Group. “Most people don’t know where to properly retire a flag and you don’t want to just throw it away.”

The agency is hosting its the ninth annual flag exchange, which usually coincides with Flag Day on June 14. This week through June 14, people can bring their old or worn flags to either Cozad Insurance office location (1428 S. Main in Lindale or 617 Chase Drive in Tyler). Hours are Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We thought it would be a good service to allow people to properly retire old and worn flags,” Cozad said.

In the first few years, the agency gave out several hundred flags a year. Now, they will give out anywhere between 50 to 100 brand-new flags a year.

“People are welcome to stop by our Lindale or Tyler offices and pick up a complimentary flag and if they have a flag they want to retire, we will gladly take those,” Cozad said.

According to the U.S. Flag Code, if a flag is no longer a fitting emblem for display, it should be respectfully destroyed.

“With the strong storms we’ve had in the recent months, a lot of people have mentioned that they’ve had their flags destroyed by the storms,” Cozad said. “So, it was great timing for us to offer new ones.”

Cozad Insurance Group will host a ceremony Veterans Day weekend in November with a proper disposal of the retired flags with a ceremonial burning after the flags have been ‘cut’, in conjunction with the Lindale Boy Scouts and veterans in the community.

“It’s a great thing to be patriotic,” Cozad said. “We support our military and our troops … so we wanted to do something unique where we could get more flags and give people new flags.”

Cozad also said that even after this week, people can still drop off flags at any time.