POW/MIA Flag Order: Texas and Other States (Scout Ceremony)

Where Does the POW/MIA Flag Go?

When the U.S. flag, the state flag and the POW/MIA flag share one pole, which goes in the middle? Many people have heard that the POW/MIA flag always flies right under the U.S. flag. That's true in some states, but not in all of them. In Texas, state law points the other way.

The DrillMaster explains this well in The POW/MIA Flag, the State's Flag, and the Difference Between Protocol and Law. Here is a summary for Scouts and color guards.

🤠 In Texas: U.S., Texas, then POW/MIA

• The Texas Government Code (Chapter 3100) says the U.S. flag should be above the Texas flag, and that other flags should not be above the state flag. It makes no exception for the POW/MIA flag.
• So on a single pole in Texas, the order from the top is U.S. flag, Texas flag, POW/MIA flag.

🗺️ In Other States: It Depends

• Some states have set their own order. Florida's flag policy, for example, puts the POW/MIA flag second: U.S. flag, POW/MIA flag, Florida flag.
• The VFW and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency recommend placing the POW/MIA flag directly beneath the U.S. flag. The VFW itself says no written rule or law settles the question. Its recommendation is guidance, and it doesn't override a state's own flag law.
• Federal law recognizes the POW/MIA flag and says when it must fly at federal buildings. It doesn't set one order that every city, school or camp has to follow.

🚩 Carried in a Color Guard

Order on a pole is read from the top down. A color guard carries the same order from right to left. The U.S. flag is always on the guard's own right, which is the place of honor, and the next flag in order stands to its left.

• Texas: from the color guard's right: U.S. flag, Texas flag, POW/MIA flag.
• States that put POW/MIA second, such as Florida: U.S. flag, POW/MIA flag, state flag.
• The audience sees the line reversed, so the U.S. flag is on the audience's left. Set flags on a stage the same way, with the U.S. flag on the speaker's right as they face the audience.

⚖️ Protocol vs. Law

Protocol is the order that whoever is responsible for a display decides to use. Law is what a legislature has actually written. Advice from a respected group or a veteran you trust is still advice. When a state's code speaks to the question, that is the starting point.

Raising flags on a ship-style mast? See Nautical Flagpoles: Gaff, Yardarm and Masthead.

Holding a Veterans Day dinner or a Court of Honor? The POW/MIA Missing Man Table Ceremony pairs well with this page.