Flag from the Challenger featured in Boise 4th of July parade

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BOISE, Idaho — In a sea of American flags lining the streets of downtown, a collection of floats, and even the clothes donned by onlookers, one flapping fabric held a higher calling to lead the Flags of Freedom display.

"It was the Challenger spacecraft flag," Flags of Freedom coordinator Lynn Southam said. "It touched everybody."

The flag flew at the U.S. Capitol building in 1985 before Bill Tolbert gained custody of the flag to anchor the creation of Boy Scout Troop 514 of Monument, Colorado. Tolbert served as chief of space flight for NASA's space command at the time - he petitioned to get the flag on a spaceflight.

The Challenger exploded in January 1986. The explosion killed all seven crew members.

"With the explosion, there was debris over a wide area. A lot of it was sinking," Tolbert said. "And if they did find it, they wouldn't tell anybody, because it was a classified recovery."

NASA found the flag at the bottom of the ocean eight months later, promptly returning it back to Tolbert and Troop 514. The flag was preserved in a waterproof container.

"Yeah, I heard it in the newspaper," Tolbert said. "It [was] spotless, no stains, no burns, no melted plastic. A true miracle."

The flag is accompanied by a caretaker who drove 14 hours from Colorado to Boise, all for the parade.

Troop 514 has since dissolved, according to Tolbert. The flag will be donated to the Challenger Learning Center in Colorado Springs to be placed on display.

"It's possible this would be the last time that flag will leave Colorado because of its historical nature and the way it's being preserved," Southam said.

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