diff --git a/public/app.js b/public/app.js
index 23765ef..b722b1b 100644
--- a/public/app.js
+++ b/public/app.js
@@ -148,9 +148,8 @@ app.controller('logtrail', function ($scope, kbnUrl, $route, $routeParams,
   //formats event based on logtrail.json config
   function formatEvent(event) {
     // displayTimestamp based on configured timezone and format
-    var displayTimestamp = moment(event.timestamp);
+    var displayTimestamp = moment(event.timestamp, selectedIndexConfig.moment_format);
     if (selectedIndexConfig.display_timestamp_format != null) {
-      displayTimestamp = moment(event.timestamp);
       if (selectedIndexConfig.display_timezone !== 'local') {
         displayTimestamp = displayTimestamp.tz(selectedIndexConfig.display_timezone);
       }
@@ -580,4 +579,4 @@ uiModules.get('app/logtrail').directive('compileTemplate', function ($compile, $
       });
     }
   };
-});
\ No newline at end of file
+});