CRESTVIEW — The 12-flag display in Warriors Hall was dedicated Monday evening with pomp and ceremony, beginning with the presentation of colors by two honor guardsmen each from the Crestview fire and police departments as The Wesley Boys men's gospel quartet of the First United Methodist Church performed the national anthem.
The display features the six service branch flags on the west wall and six historic flags on the east wall.
Organized by the Friends of the Arts, which is tasked by the city to enhance the Whitehurst Municipal Building's public auditorium, the display's germ of inspiration was provided by Fire Chief Joe Traylor shortly after the city acquired the building.
"It just seemed logical to have warriors' flags in Warriors Hall," Traylor said following the dedication ceremony.
"It really makes the hall complete," Crestview City Councilman Bill Cox said.
Dedication events included a concert by the North Okaloosa Community Band, including a dramatic performance in which Mayor David Cadle read the narration accompanying "Within These Hallowed Walls," including extracts from the Declaration of Independence.
A mix-up at the Ohio-based Flag Lady's Flag Store from which the flags were purchased resulted in a couple last-minute adjustments to the historic flags display when the wrong U.S. and Confederate States flags were received.
Instead of the 15-star, 15-stripe "Star Spangled Banner" that flew over the Crestview area when it became part of the United States in 1810, the company accidentally shipped today's 50-star flag.
Per U.S. flag protocol, the flag couldn't fly in the historic chronological order and would have had to advance to the left of the display.
The company also inadvertently sent the third instead of the first Confederate national flag.
However, the flag's donors, the Curenton family, loaned the correct Confederate flag and the historic Bennington "76" flag to Warriors Hall until the correct flags are received and hung.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview Warriors Hall flag display dedicated