I am under the impression that their are five things in a truck, yet I can't seem to find them out. also curious as to why they're there in the first place. :lol:

if I'm reading this right...

I believe there was a long discussion in this forum about the same topic

I know of only three things inside the truck, and they are a razor blade, a match and a bullet. The bullet is to defend the flag with, the razor is to cut the flag, and the match is to burn it. This is all figurtive if the flag was to be taken. This is what I have been told, and do not know for sure if it is completly acurate

This is a subject highly debated, but I will give you what I've been able to piece together over the years:

There are three items in the truck: a razor, a match, and a .45 round. In time of distress, the commander would push the flagpole towards the north, knocking it over and shattering the truck. He would then cut the stars and stripes from the flag, and burn the pieces, ensuring that the flag could not be captured.

He would then dig (some say where the truck lands, some say under the base) until he found a Colt .45. He would then load the round and commit suicide, ensuring that the unit's secrets could not be captured.

As you can tell, this is a very old story, and could be close to an urban legend since no one seems to be abel to verify the exacts of the process. In any event, you can imagine why this practice is no longer used today.

ive always heard the .45 was 45 paces from the fallen truck. but who knows

Here's what I think. Sometime in the last few years, someone has to have replaced a flagpole truck, somewhere. Between the tornados that hit Sill every twenty minutes and the hurricanes that go from FL to VA, at least one lowest-bidder-built flagpole has gone over. I'd like to hear from whoever put up the new one, or re-erected the old one. Or, if there's a post CG reading this anywhere, did you go outside to talk to a contractor with a paper bag, saying, "Here. I need you to hide this stuff in the flagpole. For some reason, they won't let me keep it my desk."