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SANDY — For the past three years, Harold Haugen and his family have gone to great lengths to show their patriotism. Each July, they hang a massive American flag at the mouth of Little Willow Canyon.
But when the Sandy resident noticed this year's flag had large rips in it, he feared it could be the work of vandals.
"I honestly thought someone had died," Haugen's wife, Becky said. "He came in and said, 'I'm so sad;' and he said, 'The flag is full of holes.'"
So on Saturday morning, Haugen and his team of volunteers made the arduous 550-foot hike up the mountain to replace the damaged flag and find out what happened.
The climb itself includes almost vertical inclines at times and some steep drop-offs. Then it took 12 men, on both sides of the canyon, and a lot of muscle to get Ol' Glory down.
Mike DeBernardo/KSL-TV
When the flag came down, Haugen's fears were confirmed: the holes appeared to be caused by bullets, or the work of a bow and arrows.
For Haugen, the wound was personal.
"Men died to keep that from hitting the ground," he said. "(When) somebody got wounded or shot (in battle), there was somebody there to grab that banner and keep it up and keep going forward, and to not let that hit the ground."
While he may never know who damaged the giant 25- by 40-foot flag, he was able to right some of the wrong by hanging its pristine replacement back over the canyon.
"It feels good to get the new one up," he laughed. "It looks pretty, doesn't it?"
Contributing: Jordan Ormond
