Low VA Rates Sponsors the Largest Flying U.S. Flag

Utah Mortgage Company Invites the Community to Witness the Largest American Flag Flown

July 3, 2017

PLEASANT GROVE, UT—The largest American flag to be flown in the U.S. will hang across Grove Creek Canyon as part of an event called Follow the Flag. More than a quarter of an acre in size, the flag will fly from July 4 to July 10. Utah mortgage company Low VA Rates funded the making of the flag to be used for this local Independence Day event.

Follow the Flag is also the name of the non-profit organization that hosts the event. It was established in June 2015 when patriotic citizen Kyle Fox approached his friend Ron Nix about displaying a large American flag over a crevice in Grove Creek Canyon. Nix and Fox asked Colonial Flag, a flag store in Draper, UT to manufacture a 30-by-60-foot American flag. The duo got permission from the city of Pleasant Grove and the National Forest Service and on July 4, 2015, held an unveiling ceremony. Boy Scout Troops 1166 and 26 from the Utah National Parks Council, Timpanogos District, carried the flag up the mountain and took turns watching the flag from dusk until dawn. The flag was lit nightly for one week, using a 7K Xenon light, which could be seen from 50 miles away.

What started as an idea between two friends has grown into a local tradition. Thousands have stood under the flag, hands over their hearts, remembering the bravery of our Military.

Fox and Nix decided to make this year’s Follow the Flag even grander by flying the largest American flag, exactly 150-by-78 feet. Like its predecessor, it was made by employees at Colonial Flag.

Another treat this year is the special guest appearance of Gail Halvorsen, known as the “Candy Bomber” during World War II. He will join the Dawns Early Light Ceremony on July 4 at 8 a.m. The ceremony will include a performance by the Debra Bonner Gospel Choir and a 21 Gun Salute by the Utah Highway Patrol Honor Guard. The flag will be lit at 8 p.m. every night from July 4 to July 9. There will be a Flag Retirement Ceremony on July 10 at 8 p.m.

Other activities include the Battle Beneath the Flag Throw Down, Freedom Ride at Legends Motorcycles in Springville, UT, and a Run2Remember 5K race. Those who wish to participate in these three events must register at followtheflag.org. The website has times and dates for all Follow the Flag activities. Everything is free unless stated otherwise.

About Low VA Rates: Low VA Rates is a VA mortgage loan company located in Lindon, Utah. It has eleven branches across the U.S. it is licensed in 48 states. The organization has been around since 2006, but it became an independent company in 2013. In its life of four years, it has saved its customers over $7.3 million. It is one of the nation’s leading lenders for VA and conventional loans.