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A new American flag is raised over the Highway 80 bridge on the Mississippi River Tuesday morning (Blake Bell | The Vicksburg Post).

A flyby courtesy of Southern Heritage Air Foundation was provided for Tuesday's ceremony (Blake Bell | The Vicksburg Post).

Pictured with an American flag are Eric Posey, Robyn Lea Posey, and Mark Posey (Blake Bell | The Vicksburg Post).

Pictured is Drake's son Mark Posey, right, and Vicksburg Bridge Commissioner Herman Smith (Blake Bell | The Vicksburg Post).

Pictured, from left, are The Army and Navy Club of Vicksburg Adjutant Norman Francingues, Eric Posey, Robyn Lea Posey, and Mark Posey (Blake Bell | The Vicksburg Post).

Pausing to photograph the raising of the flag Tuesday morning are, from left, Mark Posey and wife Robyn Lea Posey and Eric Posey (Blake Bell | The Vicksburg Post).

The Army and Navy Club of Vicksburg drew a crowd to the overlook at the Mississippi Welcome Center Tuesday morning for the second of 2024’s four flag-raising ceremonies.

Taking place quarterly, the club raises a crisp, new American flag over the Highway 80 bridge across the Mississippi River every three months, each time through sponsorships aimed at memorializing an American patriot with ties to Vicksburg or Warren County.

For its spring flag-raising, the club memorialized the life of the late Cpl. Betty Sue Drake, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

Also a doctor of library science, Drake served as the periodicals librarian and curator of special collections at the University of Southern Mississippi before finishing her career as curator of the Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby.

Sponsoring the flag in Drake’s honor were her sons, Eric and Mark Posey, and daughter-in-law Robyn Lea Posey.

Following the dedication and flag-raising ceremony, a special fly over was held courtesy of the Southern Heritage Air Foundation at the Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport.

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