The Major, flag meant to honor veterans, is flying again in Coldwater Canyon
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- Travis Vendela rides a horse to the unfurling point of The Major, the giant U.S. flag, in Coldwater Canyon on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. He’s a U.S. Army veteran who lost both legs in an incident while serving in Iraq in 2007. The Weber County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team designed a special saddle so he could get up the mountain on horseback.
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- The Major, the giant U.S. flag, flies in the breeze on a line across Coldwater Canyon east of North Ogden on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. The flag is placed in the canyon each year by to honor Brent Taylor, the late North Ogden mayor, and other military service members.
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- The Major, the giant U.S. flag, flies in the breeze on a line across Coldwater Canyon east of North Ogden on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. The flag is placed in the canyon each year by to honor Brent Taylor, the late North Ogden mayor, and other military service members.
NORTH OGDEN — With Veteran’s Day and the anniversary of Maj. Brent Taylor’s death in Afghanistan looming, The Major has returned to the mouth of Coldwater Canyon.
“It’s back up,” Jennie Taylor, Brent Taylor’s widow, said Monday.
A contingent of around 150 people, 50 or so of them hauling the large 150-by-78-foot flag, climbed the mountain around Coldwater Canyon east of North Ogden on Saturday to take part in the placement and unfurling of the flag, a tradition now in its fifth year. The effort started in 2018 after the Nov. 3, 2018, killing of Brent Taylor, the North Ogden mayor and a major in the Utah Army National Guard, while he was on a year-long military deployment to Afghanistan.
“It was really emotional to be on the mountain Saturday,” Jennie Taylor said. “I’m probably the only one who sees Halloween as a sentimental holiday.”
Two of her sons made the hike for the unfurling for the first time, she said, as did Travis Vendela, who lost both legs in an incident while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq in 2007. The Weber County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team fashioned a special saddle so Vendela could ride up via horseback to the unfurling point, Taylor said.
The Major Brent Taylor Foundation, launched by Jennie Taylor as a way of honoring service members, first responders and their families, is the motor behind the annual placement of The Major in Coldwater Canyon, visible to much of North Ogden and other surrounding locales. The Honor the Hero Foundation also plays a key role, helping with the flag rigging and flag placement, and the organization also helped coordinate Vendala’s involvement.
Jennie Taylor emphasizes that the focus should not be solely on her late husband.
“It has grown to be something so much bigger,” she said.
She hopes the sight of the giant flag flowing in the breeze inspires the broader public not just to honor and thank veterans, but also to take ownership of what the red, white and blue banner represents, to appreciate their freedom and to act. Those wanting to get a good glimpse of the flag, which will be brought down on Nov. 12, can get closer access via a 2-mile hike starting at the 2750 North Trailhead in North Ogden.
“What I hope is that everyone says, ‘That’s my flag,'” Jennie Taylor said. “Don’t just say thank you — live your thank you.”
Saturday’s unfurling marks the start of a range of Veteran’s Week activities leading up to Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11. Here are some of the other events:
Field of Honor: Around 400 U.S. flags will be placed on the expansive grounds around Pleasant View City Hall at 520 W. Elberta Drive on Tuesday starting at 4:30 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help with placement. Each flag contains information about a U.S. military service member, current and past, and the public is invited to visit the Field of Honor, as it’s dubbed, to learn about them. The flages will stay up until Nov. 12.
Blood drive: A blood drive is scheduled for Friday from 2-8 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church at the northeast corner of 500 West and 3100 North in Pleasant View.
Devotional: An outdoor devotional is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday at the North Ogden Amphitheater, featuring a presentation by Caitlin Bognaski, a former engineer officer in the U.S. Army. She served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and was honorably discharged in 2009.
“She’s really going to speak to the family, the military family,” Taylor said. Those attending are advised to bring a chair and, depending on the weather, a blanket to stay warm.
Gala: The second annual Major Brent Taylor Foundation Fundraiser Dinner Gala, which helps raise funds for scholarships and other projects, is set for Nov. 12. It’ll be held at the Eccles Conference Center in Ogden.
Parade: The main Veteran’s Day parade in Northern Utah is set for Nov. 12 in Layton, hosted by the City of Layton and other veteran’s organizations. The Lieutenant, a 30-by-60-foot U.S. flag owned by the foundation, will be carried along the parade route.
The original version of The Lieutenant was stolen last August from a transport trailer parked on a North Ogden street and hasn’t been recovered, Taylor said, prompting production of a replacement.
Brent Taylor, nearing the end of his deployment, was killed at the hands of a member of the Afghani special forces he was helping train who turned on him. His death shocked and saddened people across the country and beyond.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to note involvement of Honor the Hero Foundation in the flag effort.