CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa Correctional Institution’s veterans observed the Fourth of July with a ceremony that complements morning reveille and evening retreat rituals begun in spring.
Earlier this year, Corrections Officer Sgt. Craig Young, a U.S. Army Reserves member, recruited inmates who served their country into a group. As former service members, they can still participate in military ceremonies honoring their country.
In addition to daily flag raising, inmates conduct ceremonies on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day and Pearl Harbor Day, and honor each military branch on their establishment date. OCI staffers in the military also participate.
Dennis Wise, Clay White and Jayly Jackson, retired Air Force members, donated a flagpole and flag to the compound when Thomas Dugan, Airport Road Church of Christ prison minister and retired USAF captain, noticed there was no flag inside the facility.
OCI maintenance personnel installed the flag in the spring.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa Correctional Institution veterans raise the flag