More than half of state governors lower the American flag to honor servicemembers killed overseas.As the USA observes Flag Day Thursday, a 50-state check indicates that 28 governors automatically lower flags when troops from their state are killed, while 22 governors do not. Some lower flags statewide, others only at certain facilities or localities.
There is a debate over whether every servicemember should get the honor. "Otherwise, anytime we're in a conflict, the flag would be at half-staff most of the time, unfortunately," said Joyce Doody, executive director of the National Flag Foundation.
Don Bauer, a Vietnam veteran living in Grand Chute, Wis., said he believes governors should lower the flag to half-staff. "The flag is not just a piece of cloth," he said. "It's something that everyone believes in, in the service."
Read More
