When the young Jack Marr was working at his family’s scaffolding company in post-WWII South Boston, his specialty was climbing flagpoles, using nothing more than two thin ropes and his own prowess to reach the top. Now, 58 years after his death on a Korean battlefield, it’s appropriate that his family has dedicated to him the flagpole at the Marr Scaffolding Co. headquarters.

At Tuesday’s flagpole dedication, which coincided with Flag Day, Marr’s family and some old friends gathered at the corner of Dorchester Ave. and D Street to pay homage to his life and service.

Addressing a bleachers section-worth of friends and guests, family members and lectors spoke of war, sacrifice, and family from a star-spangled stage at the point of the South Boston intersection.

“The Korean War has long been considered the forgotten war,” said James Brett, CEO of The New England Council and master of ceremonies for the dedication. “And I think we would all agree that he was an unsung hero.”

Robert Marr, Jack’s younger brother, said he remembered his brother as a classmate and athlete. “He was a big tough football player,” he said. “And I remember him being the first Marr to play golf.”

Robert and Jack grew up off Pleasant St. in Dorchester near Uphams Corner, attending Boston Public Schools for much of their young life and working at the family company, separating when Jack enlisted at the age of 19.

Two years later, Jack was injured at the Battle of Christmas Hill in July, 1953. Reports say that during the battle, which occurred 10 days before the end of the war, the North Korean expended more firepower than at any other time during the conflict. Disregarding the barrage of enemy fire, Jack Marr left his foxhole to tend to his wounded comrades, injuring himself in the process. He died eight days later, July 25, 1953.

Fifty-seven years later, Robert thought that something was off at the Marr Co. office. “We have photos on the wall of all the Marrs who went through the company, down to the fourth, now fifth, generation. We didn’t have anything for Jack,” Robert Marr said.

It was then that the family decided that they would dedicate the flagpole – an initiative aided by nephew Daniel Marr - and that it would occur on Flag Day. “The flag has already become a staple, a landmark in the community,” Robert Marr said. “We’re just dedicating it now.”

Present at the ceremony were representatives from Rep. Stephen Lynch’s and Sen. Scott Brown’s office, each of whom gave remarks on behalf of the lawmakers.

“It is my hope that John is posthumously awarded the Silver Star,” said Robert Fowkes on behalf of Lynch.

Jerry McDermott, state director for U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, spoke on behalf of Brown, thanking the Marr family for Jack’s military service.

Also present at the ceremony were two of the 84 living Medal of Honor recipients in the United States: Thomas Kelley, who fought in the Vietnam ar, and Thomas Hudner, Jr., who fought in the Korean War. Both men are from Massachusetts.

Kelley called the dedication “a long overdue recognition of a true American hero.”

Hudner spoke of the character of men like Marr, who entered a difficult war to serve a country that thought it had won lasting piece only five years earlier. Their legacy, he said, is a world free from continued political turmoil in that region.

“North Korea is often called the forgotten war, but it should be called the forgotten victory.”