The ball on top of a flagpole is called a 'truck'.

It's not a 'truck', it's a 'Finial'...

No...it's a truck...lol. I had to salute the wavy thing beneath it for 5 years in the military ; ) And at my installation, our base Headquarters had the largest flag on post. And in the base of that pole is one water proof match, one razor, one 9mm and one bullet. In the unlikely event that American is ever be taken over by another force, the last soldier alive on base is to pull down the flag, slice it along its stripes, burn it and shoot himself in the head to avoid becoming the last surviving POW or victim of an invasion. (I'm not commenting on my opinions or knowledge...but that includes alien invasions as well) ; )

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I thought that the last soldier was to cut the stars area from the stripes and then burn it then shoot himself. I know that David is correct about what is kept in the base of the pole. My dad was incharge of raiseing the flag at the Airforce Academy in Colorado Springs for the years he was there before Nam. He told me about what was kept in there when I was about 8 years old.

It is a "Truck". A finial is what tops a flag staff, not a flag pole. There is a difference.

truck 1 |trək| noun. A wooden disk at the top of a ship's mast or flagstaff, with sheaves for signal halyards. ORIGIN Middle English (denoting a solid wooden wheel): perhaps short for truckle 1 in the sense [wheel, pulley.] The sense [wheeled vehicle] dates from the late 18th cent. A "ball-style" finial is commonly mounted to the top of a stationary flagpole.[2] This is sometimes incorrectly called a "truck", which is the mechanism that connects the finial to the pole. An urban legend says the ball contains a razor, lighter, and flare. According to the legend, the items were meant to be used to destroy the flag in case the post was overrun by the enemy. A related and less pleasant version says the finial should have a bullet, knife, and matches so the last surviving soldier can continue fighting (with the knife), and if need be destroy the flag with matches (to prevent it from being captured), and take his own life with the bullet. In actuality, the finial of a flagpole is generally inaccessible, and contains nothing. LEARN THE TRUTH TROOPERS. Don't let some butter bar LT or any other higher ups shove BS down your throat. The next time you see a duck walking, point at it and ask one of them what is that animal called. What it is, is what it is. It's a finial my friends.

which ball