Half Mast?
So we were out this weekend, helping relatives from out of town not look like “Tourons”, when we noticed that nearly every flag was at half-mast. The only notable exception was at Arlington Cemetery. They were at half mast even at Dulles Airport.
We came home and tried to look it up on the net. We found out that there are very specific conditions under which they could be ordered to fly at half-staff, as half mast is for ships. We also found that they can only be ordered so under presidential order. So we looked up to see if W had said anything, but the White House’s website had more to say about christening a Navy ship after his poppy than about the matter we were curious about.
After considering that it could have been related to the ghastly school shootings of the past week, the only other connection we could possibly see was that John “Buck” O’Neill had passed away earlier this week. He was a star of the ‘Negro’ Leagues in baseball back in the day, and surely he ought to be honored nationally. However, we’re not sure about this and would like to know what the deal was.
If it is about Buck O’Neill, then I have to say that this is another sad example of how the Leader of the Free World is more interested in baseball than about being the leader of the free world.
So again, does anyone have an idea for whose memory we were honoring nationally?
Before you automatically assume that it was Bush, governors also have ordered flags to half mast. For example, in my home state of Missouri, flags have been at half mast for the deaths of a couple of state troopers and state reps.
In my recent travels, the flags in Michigan were at half mast because a couple of soldiers were killed that were from that state. In Massachusetts, the flags were at half mast because a former governor of that state had passed.
Here is a guideline on when a flag can be flown at half mast: http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/faqs/q09.htm
And as an aside, if President Bush did sign the proclamation, which he did not, it would have taken him 2 seconds.
Flags were flown at half-mast on military bases over the weekend in honor of the National Fallen Fire-Fighter Memorial. At least where I’m stationed.