Amid the revelry, a symbol of freedom, hope and perhaps even the pioneer spirit that wrought Utah’s founding hangs over Washington Boulevard — a 30-by-60-foot American flag dubbed “The Lieutenant” that is strung between the Hampton Inn and the Cache Valley Bank buildings.

The flag’s placement is the result of a collaboration between the Major Brent Taylor Foundation and Ogden City, a project honoring Taylor — the former North Ogden mayor and Utah Army National Guard major who was killed in action in 2018 during his fourth combat deployment to Afghanistan.

Jennie Taylor, Maj. Taylor’s Gold Star widow and the founder of her husband’s namesake foundation, told the Standard-Examiner that the state and federal holidays, their deeper meanings and the passion they inspire go hand in hand.

“We look at Pioneer Day and either think, you know, Mormon Church or Utah holiday. But, really, what Pioneer Day is — it’s a work ethic. It’s a heritage. It’s a legacy. It’s a community,” she said. “I think all of that is epitomized in the American flag, not just on America’s holiday, but Utah’s holiday and, really, any day.”

Said Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski in a release: “The American flag is more than a symbol — it’s a feeling. When it flies over our city, I think of the freedom we’ve inherited, the sacrifice that secured it and the promise we owe the next generation.

“My love for that flag is personal because it reminds me that in Ogden, our leadership must earn those freedoms daily by serving, sacrificing and leading in a way that lives up to the ideals that so many fought and fell to defend.”

The flag flying over Washington Boulevard made its first appearance during the 2024 Ogden Pioneer Days parade, and it returns in 2025 as a centerpiece for the celebration. According to the release from Ogden City, no city funds have been used for the project.

However, Taylor noted that keeping the foundation’s flags in the air and in good condition requires significant manpower.

“There’s just the logistics of getting the right rope, the right carabiners, the right wires. We’ve got men on our team who have to go up onto the roof of the building, not only to fly it, but to make sure the tension is right, to pull the slack out and to make sure the wind hasn’t caught anything throughout the flight,” Taylor said.

“Our operation is run by volunteers, for volunteers, through volunteers. So, the men and women who do all these different missions, they do it just out of the goodness of their heart. They do it out of a commitment to patriotism, to foster a sense of unity wherever we go.”

For years, the foundation flew “The Major” — a 78-by-150-foot flag — over North Ogden’s Coldwater Canyon around Veterans Day. The flag will make an appearance during the Pioneer Days Rodeo. Meanwhile, a second 30-by-60-foot “Lieutenant” flag will also be carried during Thursday’s parade.

The foundation will be joined by Nadolski and the youth and coaches of Ogden City’s competitive sports program, Untamed, in walking with the flag. All the while, the banner waving over the street will serve as a beacon for people throughout the greater Ogden area.

“What’s nice about Washington Boulevard is it’s such a straight shot,” Taylor said. “I live in North Ogden, just west of Washington Boulevard. But from the moment I turn onto Washington Boulevard, all the way at the top of North Ogden, I can see that flag.”

Taylor hopes that the flag will bring people together, regardless of their background or political beliefs.

“There’s plenty wrong with America. There’s plenty wrong with Ogden. There’s plenty wrong with my own household. Like, we all have room for improvement. But there is so much good. There’s so much hope,” Taylor said. “It’s our job as citizens of a democratic republic to help with the mess, to work through it, to compromise, to be open minded, to have civil dialogue and to recognize that patriotism is not supremacy. It’s not a matter of bigotry. It should be a humble responsibility and sense of duty to try and make wherever you are a better place by working with the people who are in that place with you.

“To me, that’s what that flag represents, and I hope people can feel that.”