A decade after Missouri's governor ordered the Confederate battle flag removed from two state historic sites, a group whose ancestors were Confederate soldiers wants the banner to fly full time again.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans is boosting its efforts to fly the rebel flag over the cemetery at the Confederate Memorial Historic Site in Higginsville by reaching out to state lawmakers from the area.
Darrell Maples, the group's state commander, and a few other members met with three state representatives at the cemetery to tell them about the organization and explain why they want the flag to fly there.
"They are Confederate veterans," Maples of those buried in the cemetery. "They are representatives of all 13 Confederate states. They fought under that flag, and we think it should be put back up in honor of that."
In January 2003, Democratic Gov. Bob Holden's administration ordered the rebel flag to come down from the Higginsville site and the Fort Davidson State Historic Site in Pilot Knob. That order came after Missouri Democrat Dick Gephardt, while seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said the battle flag should not be flown anywhere.
Two years later Republican Gov. Matt Blunt ordered the flag to fly on Confederate Memorial Day on June 7 and said he would support a review of whether the flag should fly regularly.