AMERICAN FORK — Not a lot of people realize that the "Star Spangled Banner" in the song penned by Francis Scott Key refers to a specific flag — one with 15 stars and 15 stripes that flew over Fort McHenry during a battle in the War of 1812.

Nor do they know that initially there was going to be a stripe for every state until Congress realized that could eventually make for a very odd flag with a lot of very narrow stripes.

But veteran Lloyd Wright knows these details.

Known in the community as "The Flagman," Wright not only puts up an impressive curb-side display every patriotic holiday, he can recite the details that make up each flag's history.

For instance, there were several flags made with more than 13 stripes, some with 16, 17 and 18. There are flags with 15 stars and 20 stars and 45 stars.

Every flag has an official moniker. Today's flag is the "Stars and Stripes." There's the "Grand Union or Cambridge Flag" with the union jack emblem in the corner, and the "Queen Anne or Red Ensign" flag that flew while the colonies were still under English control.

Wright said the 48-star flag flown during World War I, World War II and the Korean War is the real "Old Glory."

"That's the one I remember, the one I saluted as I grew up," Wright said. "That one is the one that has flown the longest in history."

All of the flags on display in Wright's yard have a specific place in Utah and American history, including the Texas state flag, a Russian flag, a Mexican flag and a Spanish flag.

There's the "Flag of 1896" that has 45 stars and is included in Wright's line-up because that's the year Utah became a state.

The "Betsy Ross Flag" has the stars in a circle. Wright could have bought one with stars in a square or in a U-shape, but he prefers the one best known to the American public.

"I had to choose. I can't have all of them," he said. "They're fairly expensive."

The brightly colored, 3-by-5-foot nylon flags cost several hundred dollars each, and Wright feels quite strongly about having a collection that has meaning for him.

"The ones that I have are specific to me and my town," Wright said. "When I learn more, I get more."

Wright, a retired teacher who also spent almost 28 years in military service, started collecting flags after he attended a Boy Scout Woodbadge event nearly 25 years ago. He bought a starter set of five American flags and has just kept adding.

He takes good care of his collection, bringing them in at night and storing them carefully between holidays.

He's often stopped in town and thanked for his efforts.

"They seem to enjoy them," Wright said, "They'll stop me and say, 'Oh, you're the flag man!' "

He'd like to add at least another two: the 1846 flag that flew over the nation during the time the Mormon Battalion participated in the longest infantry march in history, and one from the Civil War era.

When he runs out of front yard space, he'll ask his neighbors if he can post flags in front of their homes.

"I can just keep going up the block," Wright said.

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com