A small, patriotic, crowd gathered at the Mississippi Welcome Center in Vicksburg on Wednesday morning for the most recent American flag-raising on the Old Vicksburg Bridge.

Four times every year, the Army-Navy Club of Vicksburg and the Warren County Bridge Commission hoist a new American flag over the bridge in honor of specific veterans with ties to Vicksburg.

The flag is being flown in honor of Charles W. Brasfeild and John E. Parrette.

The ceremony was attended by family and friends of the deceased veterans. Norman Francingues, Adjutant of the Army & Navy Club of Vicksburg, led the ceremony.

“The nation’s flag flying on this bridge reminds us of how capable we are to live together with respect for individual liberty and the right of self-determination,” Francingues said. “The flag on the bridge is more than a thing of beauty. It’s a symbol of freedom.”

Brasfeild served in the Pacific theater during World War II, then remained in the Mississippi National Guard after being discharged from active duty. He was later deployed to Korea during that conflict. He retired from the military in 1968 as a Chief Warrant Officer, CW4.

In the civilian service, he was a hydraulics technician at the Waterways Experiment Station (WES) in Vicksburg. He was inducted into the WES’s Gallery of Distinguished Civilian Employees in 1992.

Parrette served 20 years in the U.S. Navy from 1944 until his retirement in 1964. He was stationed in San Diego, California for most of his career serving the Pacific fleet. He later went on to serve as an engineering technician at the WES in Vicksburg after his retirement from the military. He was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery with full military honors.

The new flag is 30 feet by 20 feet and weighs about 21 pounds. It is also the only American flag in the country that flies over the Mississippi River.

The tradition has been going on for 30 years now, with the first flag-raising occurring in April of 1994.

The two individuals sponsoring the event were Charles “Rusty” Brasfeild and Becky Brasfeild.

“So today we want to raise the flag and honor those two wonderful patriotic veterans. That’ll be their flag for three months,” Francingues said. “It will fly, and in January, we’ll present it back to (the sponsors).”

The ceremony concluded with all joining in the Pledge of Allegiance as the new flag reached the top of the pole.