Why are flags at half-staff today in Wisconsin?
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The U.S. and Wisconsin state flag will be flown at half-staff Friday, May 26 in honor Navy Seaman Second Class David Joseph Riley, who lost his life in the attack on Pearl Harbor and whose remains have been identified and returned to Wisconsin for burial, Gov. Tony Evers' office announced.
Assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, Riley of Juda, Wisconsin, was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The remains of the deceased crew from the USS Oklahoma were first interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries and, after attempts at identification in 1947, were reinterred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began exhuming remains from the USS Oklahoma for analysis and identification, and in 2021, Riley’s remains were positively identified. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, the American Campaign Medal, and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, according to a news release.
Riley will be buried with full military honors in Juda on Saturday, May 27.
When are flags at half-staff in Wisconsin?
Under the U.S. Flag Code, the U.S. and respective state flags fly at half-staff when the country or state is in mourning. The president may issue a national decree, or the state governor through an executive order, to have the flags lowered at half-staff.
The decree usually marks the death of a government official, military member or first responder; in honor of Memorial Day or other national days of remembrance; or following a national tragedy.
In Wisconsin, all state-owned and operated facilities must display their flags at half-staff. Municipal and county governments, public and private schools, private businesses, and individuals should also lower their flags to half-staff under the governor's executive order.
What time are flags displayed at half-staff?
Executive orders will call for the flags to be lowered immediately or at sunrise on the day of remembrance until sunset, or for the entire mourning period.
Holidays when the flag is at half-staff around the country
May 15, Peace Officers Memorial Day (half-staff all day)
Memorial Day, last Monday of May (half-staff from sunrise until noon only)
Sept. 11, Patriot Day (half-staff all day)
First Sunday in October, Fallen Firefighters (half-staff all day)
Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (half-staff all day)
What is the difference between half-staff and half-mast?
Half-mast refers to flags lowered on a ship while half-staff refers to a pole in the ground, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command’s blog. Half-staff is the preferred form of reference in presidential decrees while half-mast is used outside of the U.S.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin flags flying at half staff for sailor killed in Pearl Harbor
