'World's largest' Confederate flag in Fla.

TAMPA, Fla., June 3 (UPI) -- The Sons of Confederate Veterans raised what they claim is the "world's largest" Confederate flag in Tampa, Fla., to mark a Confederate leader's birthday.

Group members said the flag, which measures 30 feet high and 50 feet long, was put atop its 139-foot pole Tuesday on land the group plans to use for a Confederate memorial, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Tuesday.

Organizers said the flag will only fly Tuesday to mark the 200th birthday of Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis and will then be taken down until the memorial is completed. No date has yet been set for completion of the project.

Eddie Gay, one of the four men who erected the mammoth flag Tuesday, said it took 20 minutes to raise.

"It felt good to see it flying. It's just history, that's all it is," Gay said.