Monumental Flag to be Unfurled During Menifee Football Game

A voluminous American flag will be the highlight of a high school football game Friday night in Menifee, where the outsized standard will be unfurled in a salute to military personnel on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Paloma Valley High School is the second K-12 campus in the country to receive the opportunity to display the “Big Flag,” which has made appearances in several Super Bowl and World Series games, according to the high school’s athletics department.

The 100- by 50-yard flag is scheduled to be stretched across the high school football field at 7 p.m., before the start of Paloma’s homecoming game against Riverside’s Martin Luther King High School.

Paloma Valley High Athletic Director Michael Pfeiffer said the campus is holding a “military appreciation night” in honor of all members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

“We value character and service at Paloma Valley High School, and we believe there is no greater example of those characteristics than our men and women who serve in the military,” Pfeiffer said, adding that events such as the one planned Friday are intended to emphasize “those traits that we hope our students will emulate.”

According to school officials, 250 Navy Junior ROTC cadets and freshmen football players will work in concert to unfurl the 45,000-square-foot nylon flag, which weighs about 850 pounds.

The banner will be displayed for 15 minutes, after which it will be re- folded, covered and placed in a truck.

All veterans and active-duty military personnel will be admitted to the game for free.

• --City News Service, photo via Shutterstock