Saluting a hero: WWII veteran honored with flag-raising ceremony

The Army and Navy Club of Vicksburg drew a crowd to the overlook at the Mississippi Welcome Center Tuesday morning for the second of 2024’s four flag-raising ceremonies.

Taking place quarterly, the club raises a crisp, new American flag over the Highway 80 bridge across the Mississippi River every three months, each time through sponsorships aimed at memorializing an American patriot with ties to Vicksburg or Warren County.

For its spring flag-raising, the club memorialized the life of the late Cpl. Betty Sue Drake, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

Also a doctor of library science, Drake served as the periodicals librarian and curator of special collections at the University of Southern Mississippi before finishing her career as curator of the Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby.

Sponsoring the flag in Drake’s honor were her sons, Eric and Mark Posey, and daughter-in-law Robyn Lea Posey.

Following the dedication and flag-raising ceremony, a special fly over was held courtesy of the Southern Heritage Air Foundation at the Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport.