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Governor orders flags flown at half-staff on Memorial Day

Posted at 12:00 PM, May 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-25 12:00:41-04

LANSING, Mich.  —  Michigan and U.S. flags will fly at half-staff on Monday from sunrise until noon in observance of Memorial Day.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered the flag-lowerings within the State Capitol Complex and on all state buildings, to remember those who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Her office encourages residents, businesses, schools, local governments and other organizations to also display the flag at half-staff.

“Our nation owes a tremendous debt to the military service members and their families who gave everything to their country,” Whitmer said. “It’s on this day that we pay tribute to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the rights and freedoms that we all cherish. Today we recommit ourselves to working alongside each other to build a state that is worthy of their sacrifice.”

To lower flags to half-staff, flags should be hoisted first to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The process is reversed before the flag is lowered for the day.

Memorial Day, sometimes also called Decoration Day, was observed on May 30th from 1868 to 1970, per Wikipedia. It began as an official federal holiday in 1971.

Flags should be returned to full-staff from noon until sunset on Monday, May 27th.