It's Time to Lower Nation's Flags in Honor of Fallen Soldiers

The families of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Oregon, wait while the military confirms whether the bodies of two U.S. soldiers reported captured last week are those of their sons. I can't begin to imagine the pain and sorrow they must feel, which must be compounded by the news from an Iraqi defense ministry official who said the men were "killed in a barbaric way." The horror of those young men's deaths will forever haunt their families.

None of us can ease their pain, but I'd like to see our country do more to honor their children - our fallen soldiers. Here in Michigan, Gov. Granholm orders our flags lowered to half-staff when one of our own dies, which is also carried out in a dozen other states. I think it's time to lower our nation's flag to half-staff whenever a soldier dies too.

This tribute brought great comfort to one Michigan mother who lost her son in Afghanistan. These are her heartfelt thoughts:

Op/Ed: Half-staff flag is fitting tribute
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
By: Dawn Peterson, The Detroit News

I will always be grateful to Gov. Granholm for her order to lower the flag to remember my son. It was a powerful gesture of solidarity with the loss my family suffered. I hope it was also a reminder to our citizens of the price of war and those who must pay that price -- our men and women in uniform and their families...

As the mother of the first Michigan soldier to give his life in the war on terror, I have closely followed the debate in the media over Gov. Jennifer Granholm's policy of lowering the flag to honor those who have fallen. On Flag Day, a day to celebrate the symbol of our nation and to remind our citizens of proper flag etiquette, I want to lend my voice to this debate.

When you drive past a business, government building or a neighborhood of homes and you see the flag at half-staff, you may not know who is being memorialized, but you know that whoever it is must have served our country with great honor and with great heroism. President George W. Bush has lowered the flag for former President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. These are two great men, and there is no question that they deserved this high honor. But there are thousands of other men and women who may have lived more ordinary lives but whose actions and sacrifice were just as extraordinary.

My son, Senior Airman Jason T. Plite, was one of those men. Jason enlisted in the Air Force after high school and quickly distinguished himself. He served as a member of an elite unit of the Special Forces. As a pararescueman, his missions involved helping others in need and rescuing those in life-threatening situations. On March 23, 2003, he and five of his fellow crewmen gave their lives while trying to save two young Afghan children.

Jason was not a president or dignitary. But he was extraordinary.

Some have argued that U.S. law states that only high-ranking elected officials and dignitaries should be recognized with this tribute. Comments to this effect by Dick DeVos' gubernatorial campaign have prompted many letters to papers around the state. In response, I ask the following question: Is the person who sits behind a desk and makes the decision to send our loved ones to war any more important than the men and women who fight for their country overseas?

Anyone who knew my son or any of the Michigan soldiers who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq knows that their bravery and patriotism alone warrant a display of thanks in the form of a lowered flag. This is the least we can do to remember those who are gone and to show our support of their loved ones.

The United States flag not only represents our country. To me it has become a symbol that represents my son -- his willingness to give his life not only for two Afghan children, but for our country and its right to fly that flag (at half-staff if people so choose).

My son came home to me draped in an American flag. That flag was ever so carefully folded and given to me to remember his (our) sacrifice. I was comforted and touched by the show of support in our community -- and beyond -- by those who chose to fly their flags at half-staff in my son's honor. It was a simple way in which they were able to say "thank you" and "we care." I have since felt and shared in the pain of each additional fallen soldier and their families, and I know how much this meaningful gesture has also meant to them.

I will always be grateful to Gov. Granholm for her order to lower the flag to remember my son. It was a powerful gesture of solidarity with the loss my family suffered. I hope it was also a reminder to our citizens of the price of war and those who must pay that price -- our men and women in uniform and their families.

No one deserves to be honored more by the simple gesture of a flag at half-staff than those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, as my son did, to protect and serve their country. The governor is right to continue her policy.

And if this policy is not in compliance with the rules of flag etiquette, then it is time to rewrite those rules.

Jason was not a president or dignitary. But he was extraordinary. Kristian Menchaca and Thomas L. Tucker were also extraordinary. All of our soldiers are extraordinary, and they all deserve to be honored in the highest possible way. Lowering our nation's flags is the least our country can do for them and their families.