Just a reminder that we are to fly our flags at half-mast in honor of President Gerald Ford. Bush’s order calls for 30 days of this honor from the day of Ford’s death (December 26 through the evening of January 25).
Further reminder: The flag should be hoisted quickly (as always), to the peak of the pole, and then be lowered solemnly to half-mast. When the flag is retired at the end of the day, it should be raised again to the peak, quickly, and then lowered solemnly.
- Photo of U.S. flag at half-staff over the White House, on the event of Ronald Reagan’s death in 2004. Photo by Mike Lynaugh.
See also:
- Flag respect on display for Ford funeral
- News coverage of “new” flag ceremony for Air Force
- Fisking a flag fold flogging
- Flag ceremony update
- Flag ceremony update, 2
Update, January 25, 2007: Sundown January 25 marks the end of the 30-day period of mourning for President Ford; flags should fly at full staff tomorrow, or 24-hour displays should be hoisted to the peak of the staff at sundown Thursday, January 25.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
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[…] Flags at half-staff to honor President Ford […]
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FLAGS ARE AT HALF STAFF, NOT HALF MAST-MAST IS ON A SHIP
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Yeah I think east Timur wont obey.
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You wait for two days left in the mourning period to tell us?
Thanks, Mr. Niderkowski. I had not meant to imply that flags should come half-way down. You’re right — “half-staff” really should mean “one-third-from-the-top” in most circumstances (flags on the U.S. Capitol and White House generally are half-staff in mourning periods, but they are very long poles). I’ve seen any number of flags here in Texas that are way too low. I’ve stopped to untangle three from bushes, and one was tethered loosely and got fouled in the eagle at the top of the pole . . .
Got that, readers? For most flags and poles, “half-staff” means “one-third” from the top. Don’t put the flag so low that it touches bushes or trees, or can get fouled in antything else (passing traffic, for example).
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FYI,
The flag should be lowered to slightly lower than 1/3 from the top, not at “half-mast” as the description implies.
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There is much to regret about U.S. foreign policy between 1946 and today. Gerald Ford was part of the change in U.S. foreign policy away from ‘support anticommunists at all costs’ even when those anticommunists were themselves totalitarian despots, and often corrupt. Thanks for the history lesson about East Timor, understanding that starting in the Ford administration is an arbitrary place not necessarily reflective of the previous 500 years of history.
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The reason I will not miss Gerald Ford:
http://lisbonman.wordpress.com/2007/01/03/east-timor-the-reason-i-will-not-miss-gerald-ford/
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[…] couple of days after President Ford’s death I posted a short reminder of what the flag code calls for, with a photo of a flag flying at half-sta… — a photo taken in 2004, after the death of Ronald Reagan, but the only one I could find at […]
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It’s a sinking ship right now, or at least it’s taking on water.
I’ve changed “mast” to “staff” above. Thanks for the heads-up.
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The flag at the Whitehouse is at HALF-STAFF. Masts are on ships. The Whitehouse is not a ship.
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