By Elizabeth Barhydt
At the end of May, just before the flags are placed at Lakeview Cemetery for Memorial Day, another kind of tribute will quietly appear outside the New Canaan Fire Department: a white, mailbox-shaped receptacle designed to retire old American flags with dignity. The box, painted red, white, and blue, is the second installment of a two-part Eagle Scout project by New Canaan High School junior James Bakal.
“It’s the flag retirement box,” James explains. “So anyone with an old, tattered, ripped flag can drop it off there, and Troop 70 will take it to summer camp and retire it the correct way.”
That simple but profound act—offering townspeople a place to bring their weather-worn flags—is the capstone of a project that began many months earlier. The first part was completed in time for Veterans Day 2024, when James hand-built 27 wooden display cases designed to hold the American flags given to families at the funerals of military veterans.
“When a veteran passes, the family will get a flag at the funeral,” James says. “The box that I made is supposed to be the box they use. It’s just a gift from the VFW to the family.”
James crafted each of the 27 triangle-shaped cases himself and donated them to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, where they are now ready to be given to grieving families—no charge, no fuss, just quiet recognition. “We’ve already given away two—to Mike Aldrich and Mike McDonough,” says Mike McGlinn, commander of the New Canaan VFW. “This kid is so good and these things are professional.”
McGlinn adds that the VFW plans to keep the cases on hand to continue offering them to the families of veterans when the time comes. “He got his name on everything on the side there. He’s a really nice kid.”
The second part of the project—creating the freestanding flag retirement box—was inspired by a common question the fire department receives: what should be done with old flags?
“People are always asking the fire department what to do with their flags,” says Russ Kimes, New Canaan’s emergency management director. “This will help everyone.”
James’s decision to focus his Eagle Scout project on honoring the flag and veterans comes from deep within his family history.
“My grandfather fought in World War II,” he says. “Two of my cousins had trips to Afghanistan. I think my uncle was also in World War II.”
A longtime Scout, James started in first grade. “My dad has been on campouts and at meetings, and my parents have been extremely supportive,” he says. “It’s definitely been a natural progression. Not everybody makes Eagle, so having this project close to the heart has really meant a lot.”
To younger kids thinking about joining Scouts, James says simply: “Test it out for a year. If you love it like I did, then you stick with it. But if you don’t, you don’t. It’s just how you are.”
For James, the real gift of Scouting has been the people. “The camaraderie. I found some older kids who are now in college, and I’m still extremely close with them. Just the sense of community I feel and the life skills I’ve learned.”
Back at the VFW, McGlinn reflects on the impact James has already made. “It’s a story. He’ll tell you the story. We give these to the veterans’ families. We don’t charge anything. It’s about honoring them.”
Soon, the red, white, and blue retirement box will stand sentinel outside the firehouse, ready to receive the faded symbols of service and sacrifice. It won’t draw attention to itself. It will just be there, quietly doing what it was made to do.
Like the young man who built it—with care, with humility, and with deep respect.
