The flag should always be carried upright, aloft and free.
The flag should be displayed high above and free of anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.
The flag should always be allowed to fall freely. Use bunting -- not the U.S. flag -- to drape, festoon, draw back, or hang in folds as decoration. Bunting of blue, white and red -- always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below --
should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of a platform, and so on.
The flag should be treated with respect. Protect it from being easily torn, soiled or damaged in any way when fastening, displaying, using, or storing it.
All parts of the flag should be kept completely free of any markings, insignias, letters, words, figures, designs, pictures, or drawings of any nature not inherent in its creation.
The flag should not be used as receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything.
The flag should be displayed with the union down only as a sign of dire distress. It should not be dipped to any person or thing.
When the U.S. flag is no longer in such a condition that it is a fitting emblem for display, it should be destroyed in a dignified manner.
From "The American Flag," ? 1989 Brown & Bigelow, Inc. And the Voter Registrar's Association of Virginia Website