Flag-folding recitation banned

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A federal agency has banned flag-folding recitations at U.S. veterans cemeteries after a complaint over religious content.

The Riverside (Calif.) Press-Enterprise said the recitation, used at thousands of military burials, explains the significance of each of the 13 folds of the flag.

The newspaper said a complaint was lodged against the words for the 11th fold, which "celebrates Jewish war veterans and "glorifies the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."

Mike Nacincik, a spokesman for the National Cemetery Administration, said the complaint originated from someone who witnessed the ceremony at Riverside National Cemetery in California, the newspaper said.

He said the 13-fold recital is not part of the U.S. Flag Code and is not government approved.

Nacincik said the main reason for the new rules is uniformity.