Marking the occasion: Army and Navy Club dedicates flag display

On a day that was already of historical significance for the United States, the Army and Navy Club of Vicksburg commemorated another milestone Thursday on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II.

Army and Navy Club of Vicksburg Adjutant Norman Francingues said the VFW William T. Gifford Post used its monthly steak dinner to honor a number of veterans and organizations, but also to unveil a new flag donated by Billy Guthrie and his family.

The VFW’s newly displayed flag was unveiled inside a case designed by Army and Navy Club member Jerry Boland and donated by the Guthrie family, who originally sponsored it to fly over the Old Mississippi Bridge earlier this year in honor of William Aly Guthrie and Rhesa McCoy Allen Jr.

While the Army and Navy Club of Vicksburg switch out the flags that fly atop the bridge every three months, Guthrie said he and his family felt donating the flag to the VFW was more appropriate than flying it themselves following the end of its official use as the only flag to fly on a bridge crossing the Mississippi River.