What It Means to Fold an American Flag

Richard Keefer holds a folded U.S. flag at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, Calif., on June 28, 2022. Ilene Eng/NTD Television

ALAMEDA, Calif.—When most people see the American flag, they associate it with freedom but may not know that there is a process to folding the flag, with a special meaning behind each fold.

Richard Keefer, a docent at the USS Hornet Museum, spoke with NTD Television about flag folding and its significance.

Keefer was a pilot during the 1960s. Now, as a docent, he teaches the younger generation about U.S. military history, which includes flag folding. Keefer said that the flags he folded were usually for fallen soldiers.

“There is a script that we use that’s given to use as a recommendation, that basically says we’re sorry for your loss, but on behalf of the president of the United States, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Marine Corps, we feel your pain; [on] behalf of a grateful nation we’d like to accept the flag for your deceased person,” Keefer said.

Keefer recalls his first time folding an American flag for a Navy corpsman.

“He was embedded with the Marine Battalion in Vietnam and, on the day he was killed, saved about 47 of his Marines and died in the same action. He got a silver star for that,” he said.

His station had no Honor Guard at the time, so they had to form one to hold a funeral for the fallen.

“I’m looking at a young woman who was about 19 years old with a baby he had never seen. … It’s very vivid in my mind right now, and it was a very, very tough thing for me to get out and choke out, but I managed to get through it okay,” Keefer recalled.

Keila Hurtado and Richard Keefer prepare to fold a U.S. flag at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, Calif., on June 28, 2022. Ilene Eng/NTD Television

Flag folding consists of 13 folds, each with a meaning and a verse. Each fold is careful, precise and aligned.

“When you finish with the folds, it has to look a certain way. You cannot have any white showing, for example, or red showing on the fold,” Keefer said. “It all has to be the star field, or the canton field of the flag, so that it represents the final fold, which is the respect of God.”

By the 13th fold, the flag should look like a triangle. Keefer said the triangle represents the hats the sailors and army folk wore during the Revolutionary War.

The flag is then presented with both hands to the Honor Guard, with the long side facing out and the point facing oneself. Keefer says presenting the point first is disrespectful.

Now he educates the public about U.S. history and what freedom means to him.

“That is something that is given to you by people that died, for you to have that privilege in this country,” Keefer said.

Keila Hurtado, a recent graduate and a teacher, has been fascinated with history since she was young. During the pandemic, she regularly visited the USS Hornet and learned from Keefer how to fold a flag.

“It was a very emotional experience for me. And also, as he was teaching me, I was sweating, I was making sure I made the right folds, and every time I kept getting it wrong; I was like, ‘Richard, what’s going on?’ But he was really patient with me,” Hurtado said.

Keila Hurtado reads a script as Richard Keefer folds a U.S. flag at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, Calif., on June 28, 2022. Ilene Eng/NTD Television

She is motivated to get the perfect fold.

“To me, it’s very hard because you have to get all the folds right. But I try to think about the people that I love and the people who served this country, in order to motivate me even more to get that fold right. I want to do it for them and for my loved ones as well.”

Usually the folding is done in midair with at least two people, or six at a gravesite.

Keefer said the USS Hornet offers slightly different flag presentations depending on the service requested.

Here’s what each fold for the U.S. flag means, according to the National Flag Foundation:

1. First fold: A symbol of life.
2. Second fold: Our belief in eternal life.
3. Third fold: Pays honor and tribute to the veteran departing our ranks, who gave a portion of his or her life for the defense of our country to attain peace.
4. Fourth fold: Our weaker nature as citizens trusting in God; it is to Him we turn for His divine guidance.
5. Fifth fold: An acknowledgement to our country. In the words of Stephen Decatur, “Our country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right, but it is still our country, right or wrong.”
6. Sixth fold: Where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag.
7. Seventh fold: A tribute to our armed forces, through which we protect our country and our flag against enemies.
8. Eighth fold: A tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day, and to honor our mothers, for whom it flies on Mother’s Day.
9. Ninth fold: An honor to womanhood, for it is through their faith, love, loyalty, and devotion that the character of men and women who have made this country great have been molded.
10. Tenth fold: A tribute to fathers, for they have given their sons and daughters for the defense of our country.
11. Eleventh fold: In the eyes of Hebrew citizens, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
12. Twelfth fold: In the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
13. Thirteenth fold: The flag is completely folded, and the stars are uppermost, reminding us of our national motto, “In God We Trust.”