The reincarnation of “The Major,” a giant U.S. flag, is again flying in Coldwater Canyon in North Ogden, meant to pay tribute to the nation’s veterans as Veterans Day nears.
A group of volunteers organized by the Major Brent Taylor Foundation gathered last Saturday, Nov. 1, to haul the rolled-up, 150-by-78-foot flag up a trail to the point where it was unfurled. More activities are planned as part of what the foundation dubs Veterans Week, a series of activities to honor military service, promote patriotism and pay tribute to those who have died in military service. Veterans Day is Nov. 11.
The flag now waving in the wind on the east side of North Ogden is the reincarnation of the original flag that has flown at the mouth of the canyon each year around Veterans Day since 2019. That’s when Jennie Taylor, widow of Maj. Brent Taylor — killed on Nov. 3, 2018, while serving in Afghanistan with the Utah Army National Guard — launched Veterans Week activities, spurred by her husband’s death.
The first flag, made in honor of the former North Ogden mayor, was retired last year due to damage sustained from exposure to the elements. The replacement, publicly unveiled last September at an Ogden Raptors baseball game, is now making its maiden flight in Coldwater Canyon.
Here are highlights of some of the other activities planned as part of Veterans Week:
- A fundraiser, the Leadership Legacy Gala, is set for Friday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. at Eccles Conference Center in Ogden. The featured speaker is Michael Rodriguez, a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces and head of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation.
- A walk, ruck or run, the Major Brent Taylor Memorial 5K and Ruck, is set for Saturday, Nov. 8, starting at 9 a.m. at Ben Lomond Cemetery in North Ogden, where Taylor is buried. The route leads to the Coldwater Canyon trailhead, and participants can continue along the trail to The Major.
- Layton is hosting a Veterans Parade and Veterans Honors Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 8, starting at 11:11 a.m. Major Brent Taylor Foundation representatives will take part, carrying The Lieutenant, a 30-by-60-foot U.S. flag.
- A nondenominational gathering, the Veterans Outdoor Devotional, will be held Sunday, Nov. 9, from 4-5 p.m. at the Barker Park Amphitheater in North Ogden. The featured speaker will be retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, head of the Wounded Warrior Project.
Brent Taylor was serving in the Utah Army National Guard in Afghanistan when he was shot and killed by a rogue member of the Afghan military. “The Major” is to be retrieved from Coldwater Canyon on Nov. 16.