Why flags are flying at half-staff, half-mast today

Cole Behrens, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
Flags are shown at half-staff Wednesday morning near at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
Flags are shown at half-staff Wednesday morning near at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has ordered U.S. and Ohio state flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the life and service of South Richland Fire Chief Matthew Hankenkrath.

Flags at public buildings and grounds across Defiance County, the Ohio Statehouse, the Vern Riffe Center and the Rhodes State Office Tower will remain at half-staff until sunset on the day of the second of his funeral on July 3. Hanenkrath died after responding to a call of a structure fire Tuesday afternoon in the 9400 block of Adams Ridge Road in South Richland Township in Defiance County.

He held many responsibilities in Defiance County, including South Richland Fire Department fire chief, Assistant Highland Township Fire Department chief, 911 director for the Defiance County Sheriff’s Department, and school board president for Ayersville Local Schools, according to the South Richland Fire Department.

Visitation is Sunday at the Defiance Elementary School gym from noon to 8 p.m., and Monday from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Hanenkrath's funeral service will follow Monday at 11 a.m. at Defiance Elementary School, according to WTOL in Toledo.

What time are flags displayed at half-staff?

Customs call for flags to be shown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset unless the flag can be illuminated overnight.

Holidays where the flag is half-staff around the country

  • May 15: Peace Officers Memorial Day (half-staff all day)

  • Last Monday in May: Memorial Day (half-staff until noon)

  • Sept. 11: Patriot Day (half-staff all day)

  • First Sunday in October: Fallen Fighters Fallen Firefighters (half-staff all day)

  • Dec. 7: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (half-staff all day)

What's the difference between half-mast and half-staff?

According to The Sextant, the Naval History and Heritage Command’s blog, half-mast refers to lowered flags on a ship, while half-staff is a pole in the ground. But the blog continues to say half-mast is used outside the U.S.

@Colebehr_report

Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Why flags are flying at half-staff, half-mast today