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Each year, as part of their recognition of the Memorial Day holiday, Ace Hardware teams up with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for their annual One Million Flag Giveaway. In 2023, anyone who visited a participating Ace Hardware store on Saturday, May 27 (two days before Memorial Day) received a free 8″ x 12″ American flag.
This is just one of the many Memorial Day deals available for the holiday weekend, including specific Memorial Day food deals for military members.
Based on what we saw in 2023, here’s what we expect for the Ace Hardware free flag promotion during Memorial Day weekend in 2024.
Memorial Day weekend is May 25 – 27, 2024
In 2024, Memorial Day weekend will be May 25 – 27. We expect the Ace Hardware free flag giveaway to take place on Saturday, May 25, 2024.
Each participating Ace Hardware hands out 240 free American flags.
There are about 4,400 Ace Hardware stores across the country, and each one had 240 flags to hand out during business hours on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
To get your flags, you had to visit the Ace Hardware store near you. Then simply go to the checkout area and ask for one. There was no purchase required to receive a free American flag. The offer was limited to one flag per person.
Most Ace Hardware stores are open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
For every flag handed out, Ace donates another flag to a local VFW Post.
Every flag Ace handed out in 2023 was matched by a flag donation to a local VFW post. These flags mark and honor veterans’ graves on Memorial Day.
In 2021, Ace gave away more than 500,000 American flags to customers at Ace stores, and they sent 550,000 flags to more than 1,900 VFW Posts.
Related: 110 Military Discounts You Can Get Throughout the Year
Keep an eye out for a disposal box for old American flags.
Angie Westre | Dreamstime.com
In addition to the flag giveaway, in past years, all participating Ace Hardware stores have had a flag disposal box where customers can drop off worn or torn American flags for proper disposal. At the end of the month, a local Boy Scout group or the VFW collect the flags and hold a retirement ceremony.
There’s no law that tells you exactly what to do with an old American flag, but there’s something called the Flag Code that gives you an idea of how to treat it with respect. According to the Flag Code, if a flag is so worn out that it’s not a good symbol anymore, you should burn it in a dignified way. The disposal boxes let others retire the flags in accordance with the Flag Code.
