Flags at half-staff for Virginia Tech, so why not for fallen U.S. troops?

In New Hampshire our governor always orders flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of soldiers lost in war.

"CONCORD - Gov. John Lynch has ordered flags on all state buildings to half staff on Wednesday to honor Army Capt. Jonathan Grassbaugh of Hampstead, who was killed in action in Iraq on April 7. "

I agree with many of the responses before me. The VT massacre is a tragic. Being politically correct - Va Tech should only lower their VT flag to half staff.

I agree, why are the lives of the VT students considered more precious than those of our fallen soldiers?
Young soldiers are dying every day. The flag should be flown at half staff until ALL the troops come home.

Sheila Grable
ArmyVeteran MarineMom

Extracted from the UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 36, CHAPTER 10
- By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory. In the event of the death of a present or former official of the government of any State, territory, or possession of the United States, the Governor of that State, territory, or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall be flown at half-staff.

The Code itself makes no provision for the flag to fly at half-staff for any other reason, to include the Virginia Tech tragedy, 9/11, or the death of any military member. But the code is only a guide without penalty so the President (and apparently Governors and base commanders) can do what he wants.

To fly the flag at half-staff for the death of every military member sounds great until you take the time to consider the implications. If only flown one day for each military death, it would fly just about every day and the entire concept would quickly lose all meaning for everyone. (Except maybe those who think that this action would serve as a great protest against the war. I am against the war but hold no fantasy that a permanent half-staff would hasten the war's end.)

What happens when a death occurs that requires the flag to be at half-staff per the US Code while the flag is on continuous half-staff for each military death? The idea of showing respect for the memory of the deceased official would be lost. Consider a few months back when Gerald Ford died. What would happen if Bush died? The flag would already be at half-staff.

I say that the current system is working fine. The nation's leaders called the military to war and the nation expects military members to die. We respect their service and sacrifice, but we do not need to lessen the conceptual impact of the flag at half-staff for them.

God Bless America and it's undying and possibly self-destructive attempt to satisfy everybody. I am a 20 year Army brat and served 20 yrs myself. Many soldiers and buddies have come and gone in the deployments, operations, battles, wars during that time, and each did it with honor and pride; They will always be honored in my heart. The flag should only be lowered NATIONALLY to mourn those that have or are serving our nation and whom we hold in the highest esteem. At times it could be deemed appropriate, as in the case of the victoms of 9/11 (were they not the first casualties of the war we are currently in?). Although a great gesture I felt it inappropriate to have done so NATIONALLY for the Virginia Tech victims. Unless the nation is saying that this guy was a terrorist from another polical faction declaring war on our nation there was no great national significance of this incident. Just because it was the largest massacre in College history it is not the greatest massacre in American history. My prayers are with those families that lost their loved ones, but an Honor is an Honor that should only be given appropriatley. As for the Soldiers and other Service Members. They are honored with the way their remains are processed and the rights that are bestoyed upon them. I do agree that if the Fort, Base, Post, Station, and /or City and State wishing to Honor them in that fasion should be allowed to. To NATIONALLY honor people that have not yet contributed to serving the nation only opens up the question of: Why was the flag not lowed to half staff when the children who died just after birth or from cancer at a young age, or even other innocent victims of violent crimes in the past or even in the future? Let us preserve our traditions.

Do those who argue that flags should not be lowered to half mast also believe they should not have been lowered after the terrible events of 9/11? Those 3,000 people were also just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Did we dishonor the military after 9/11 by that national mourning symbolized by the lowering of the flags?

When we lower the flags as a nation, it is not just to honor somebody, it is a symbol of our shared grief, of our shared need for healing. The events at VT, like those of 9/11, rattled the very psyches of the American people both young and old. And in this case, I agree that the shock to our system warranted such symbolism.

Other posters have written well and wisely. If we lowered the flags after every death, they would always be lowered, and the act would quickly lose its significance. I also agree with posters who have pointed out this administration's tendency to obscure information about deaths and funerals - even worse to misrepresent the circumstances of servicemen/women's deaths. Here should be the greater beef.

Respectfully,

MP

"The events at VT, like those of 9/11, rattled the very psyches of the American people both young and old. And in this case, I agree that the shock to our system warranted such symbolism."

Why is this incident such a shock? No really, look at human nature, look at our demands on people. Do we not realize that man is capable of such things? Here is the proof. I am not shocked that this happened, this was set up from the begining, just wait and follow along with what is found out. This young man made a choice, a wrong choice (I am not saying a mistake type or an "oops" type) but a choice. He did wrong, a terrible wrong. But to say it was a shock only proves that America looks at life through rosecolored glasses. Hey, always hope and pray for the best. Always expect people to do their best and believe in society, but never ever forget that we are humans and inperfect and always be ready for things that go wrong.

The victims deserve our grief, as does any and all victims of violent crimes. Maybe we should have a Victims of Violent Crimes Day and fly our Nations Flag at half mast on that day to recognize and honor all violent crimes victims, past and future.

The only reason I see this as a shock is that the media has called is so and for lack of better understanding by all we follow.

[CJOHN364]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I think the entire basis of this is selfishness. When we joined the military, and took the oath of enlistment, we did so knowing that our job would take us in harms way. We did not demand special concessions be made should we fall in the line of duty. The possibility of death in combat is a part of our life. It was not part of theirs. We are already afforded special honors should we fall in the line of duty, and it's pure selfishishness to try to turn the one thing that this country can do to honor their loss, into something about you.

There is a big difference between falling in combat and falling victim to some person who lost his/her grasp on reality. Can you say the same in regards to the civil servants of our communities, such as law enforcement, firefighters and the like? Should they be remembered as just doing their jobs? The media is making more than a big deal as it is with the Lynch/Tillman issues, but nothing in regards to our fallen comrades in arms. It's not about selfishness, it's about remembrance.

BZ to the U.S. Army Sgt.

Our service members don't get the recognition they deserve. Are our Service Men and Women to be taken for granted as well as our liberties, freedoms and demoracy? I think Not.

As sad as VT was, and is, our Men and Women who defend, and are in harms way constantly, should be prasied and honored above all. I'm not taking anything way from the VT incident, nor should we forget either, but lets not forget about our Troops either and the ones who have given the Ultimate Sacrifice for our Country; our way of life, and for the flag that has flown at half mast that they so defend.

Originally Posted by CommunityEditor

From the article --

A U.S. Army sergeant complained in a rare opinion article that the U.S. flag flew at half-staff last week at the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan for those killed at Virginia Tech, but the same honor is not given to fallen U.S. troops here and in Iraq.

In the article issued Monday by the public affairs office at Bagram military base north of Kabul, Sgt. Jim Wilt lamented that his comrades’ deaths have become a mere blip on the TV screen, lacking the “shock factor” to be honored by the flag as the deaths at Virginia Tech were.

He noted that Bagram obeyed President Bush’s order last week that all U.S. flags at federal locations be flown at half-staff through April 22 to honor 32 people killed at Virginia Tech by a 23-year-old student gunman who then killed himself.

“I think it is sad that we do not raise the bases’ flag to half-staff when a member of our own task force dies,” Wilt said.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said the flags of all its troop-contributing nations are flown at half-staff for about 72 hours after a service member’s death “as a mark of respect when there is an ISAF fatality.”

Wilt suggested that flags should fly at half-staff on the base where the fallen service member was working and in the states where they hail from. He said some states do this, but not all of them.

He wrote that the death of a U.S. service member is just as violent as those at the university last week, but it lacks the “shock factor of the Virginia massacre.”

“If the flags on our (operating bases) were lowered for just one day after the death of a service member, it would show the people who knew the person that society cared, the American people care.”


Full article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/20...fstaff_070423/

What do you think of Sgt. Wilt's opinion?


This board is for discussion on this article and Sgt. Wilt's opinion. This is not a board to discuss President Bush's war strategy. Off topic posts will be removed.

Guys and gals realize this, if we flew the flag at half staff for all of our soldiers that die that it would never have a day at the top. we have lost over 3000 troops in this fight alone, thats almost ten years, add up all the other wars, conflicts and the rest and we have way to many days lowered.
the reason that our flag flys high every day is because of the sacrifices of the our dedicated Americans.

and if the commander in chief says they fly low for whatever reason, then so be it, remember he is the boss.