Why are flags half-staff on Friday, August 27? Flags are half-staff this Friday and through the weekend after President Joe Biden issued a national half-staff proclamation after at least 13 U.S. Marines and service members were among the people killed in attacks in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 26. In addition to Biden’s national order, a number of states have their own proclamations in place. Here’s a look at the people who are being honored across the country with lowered flags:
Flags Are at Half-Staff in Memory of the Victims of the Afghanistan Attack
Flags are at half-staff through sunset on Monday, August 30, in memory of the victims of the Afghanistan attack on August 26.
Biden said in his half-staff proclamation:
As a mark of respect for the U.S. service members and other victims killed in the terrorist attack on August 26, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, August 30, 2021. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.
JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
States Have Also Lowered Their Flags in Honor of Others Who Have Died
Some states have issued their own proclamations to remember those who have died.
In New Jersey, flags are flying half-staff today in memory of Norman V. Inferrera, III. Inferrera was a 16-year-old, first-year lifeguard on the Cape May Beach Patrol, according to the half-staff order, when his boat was hit by a wave and he died from his injuries. He was on duty guarding the waters of Reading Avenue Beach, according to the half-staff order.
In New York, flags are flying half-staff through sunset on August 30 in memory of New York State Police Trooper James J. Monda, who died while on marine detail. Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement:
I am devastated by the news of the passing of New York State Police Trooper James J. Monda, an 18-year veteran of the Division who died in the line of duty while on marine detail on the Great Sacandaga Lake Sunday.
Our Troopers serve and protect the citizens of the State and when we lose a member, we lose a piece of the community. I extend prayers and condolences from all New Yorkers to the family, fiancée and friends of Trooper Monda.
I am directing that flags on all State buildings be lowered to half-staff tomorrow through interment on Monday in honor of Trooper Monda. We will never forget his dedicated service to our safety and our State.
In Tennesse, a half-staff alert is in place through sunset on August 27 in memory of the lives lost during the floods.
Flag Half-Staff Traditions
It’s customary to only display the American flag from sunrise to sunset unless the flag is well illuminated overnight. In those cases, the flag might be displayed 24 hours a day. A number of holidays call for U.S. flags to be lowered to half-staff every year. In addition, the president of the United States may order a proclamation for the flags to fly half-staff when someone of prominence dies or when there is a national tragedy. State governors may also call for national flags to be flown at half-staff in their state when a present or former government official dies.
If you’re wondering about the terms half-mast versus half-staff, in the United States half-mast refers to flags being lowered on a ship, while half-staff refers to a pole on the ground or a building, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command’s blog The Sextant. However, outside the United States, the more commonly used term is actually half-mast, according to The Sextant. The terms tend to be used interchangeably in common vernacular.
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