Follow the Flag raises gigantic flags and patriotic spirit

PLEASANT GROVE, Utah (ABC4) — Since 2015, Follow the Flag has been raising big flags in canyons across our region, but it all started with a simple idea.

Carrie and Kyle Fox didn’t set out to start something, but they did. It’s a movement of patriotism and service, all behind a gigantic American flag.

It all started in 2015 when Kyle Fox had an idea.

His wife Carrie recalls the moment she learned about the idea. She told ABC4 News, “I remember it distinctly.  Kyle rolled over one morning and said I think I’m going fly a giant flag in Grove Creek Canyon.”

It was a big idea that Kyle had to make a reality.

Kyle said, “It was a crazy off the wall idea and I just followed it.  I just wanted to do something that would stop people in their tracks.”

Kyle accomplished the goal.

After a few weeks of trial and error, Kyle raised the flag for the Fourth of July. The reaction was more than Carrie and Kyle could have imagined.

Carrie said, “That first year there was a veteran who said this is the greatest thank you I have felt from my country.”

Kyle added, “We were scratching our heads trying to figure out how what we did was so great for someone else. It was just a simple rope and a flag.”

While it may have just been a rope and a flag, that first flight ignited a movement. Follow the Flag was born.

Kyle continued, “It’s like a moth to the flame. The flag goes up and people are on the trail offering to do this, I can do that, and all of these different people come out of the woodwork.”

These people have formed a group Kyle calls a family. Together they are moving the mission of the flag. It all started with a flag the size you’d see at a car dealership; but they wanted more.

Kyle said together they decided, “Let’s go to the biggest that has ever flown in history, so we went with 6 and a half times bigger. We went with the 150×78 that’s the largest that has ever flown in history.”

While the flags in the canyon are spectacular, the mission doesn’t end there. They place smaller flags wherever they are needed, especially when someone comes home or a loved one is lost.

Kyle said, “We just put pipe on a stick of rebar and put a 3×5 flag on it. We are doing what the Boy Scouts used to do.”

Kyle makes it sound simple, but the impact is significant.

Carrie explained, “I think it’s something that once people experience it, it’s a pretty good opportunity. A pretty good deal.”

Follow the Flag brings together to honor the flag and serve others.

Kyle said, “Kindness is the secret to life. Service is the secret. I don’t care what problems you have, if you go out and do something for someone else, it’s going to fix it or at least help it.”

Follow the Flag has flown their gigantic flag on 22 different flights. It will fly again this Fourth of July in Pleasant Grove.

You can learn more about Follow the Flag on their website HERE.