SANDY, Utah — Instead of a convention or auto show, a 400-pound American flag has taken over the floor of the Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy as a new Stars and Stripes prepares to fly high over a Utah canyon.
It's all because what Utahns know as "The Major" is battered and pierced, but not broken. The massive flag flew over Coldwater Canyon in North Ogden until last year, when it was damaged.
The name of the original flag will remain untouched as it honors Jennie Taylor’s husband, the former mayor of North Ogden and Utah National Guardsman, Major Brent Taylor.
“The journey between November 3, 2018, when my husband was killed, and today feels a lot like the journey 'The Major' flag has taken," Taylor explained.
Taylor, who is CEO and founder of the Major Brent Taylor Foundation expressed how the last seven years have been really tough.
Video captures special moment when Utah delivery driver honors American flag:
“...there have been days where I’m not sure I can fly another day. I’m not sure what kind of energy I have. Sometimes you just wonder, does it matter? Is it worth it?”
On Monday, Taylor remembered why it is.
While the Colonial Flag crew started their repairs on The Major, they rolled out a new flag that will replace it in the canyon.
“To be able to see these things laid out, it impacts you," said seamstress Kaesi Bird. "It strikes you in a way of, 'Oh, this is what I’m doing this for.' This is what this means.”
It’s more than just fabric and thread for Bird. It’s a story she gets to be a part of.
“To be able to know your work is affecting people across the nation, essentially, it’s humbling,” she said.
As the baton is passed from one flag to the next, Jennie Taylor said there’s one thing she knows for sure that her husband would be proud of.
“I think the best way to sum up the past seven years is to look at the flight of this flag. It’s been a very unexpected journey, but one that I, even though it’s hard to say this, I’m grateful for it.”
The new flag is still in search of a name, and people are invited to CLICK HERE and share any suggestions they may have, as well as make donations to help pay for it.
