You may have noticed on your morning commute that flags were set at half-mast half-staff today. If you were curious as to the reason why, Homes for Heroes has your answer: May 15 is National Peace Officers Memorial Day. This day has been observed since 1962, when President Kennedy signed a bill from Congress designating May 15 as a national holiday celebrating peace officers. In 1994, President Clinton amended the bill by mandating that the flag be flown at half-staff on this date.
Yesterday, President Obama issued a statement recognizing this week as National Police Week (mentioned on our blog yesterday) and today as Peace Officers Memorial Day.
In his words: “This week, we pay tribute to the thousands of men and women who serve us with extraordinary bravery, and we remember the heroes who have laid down their lives in pursuit of a safer, more just society.”
Read more: “Peace Officers Memorial Day set”
Horray for honoring our Peace Officers however unless we are on a ship our flags are “half staff” not “half mast”!
But the North American continent is drifting ever so slowly on the earth’s shifting tectonic plates, almost as if she were a ship! Just kidding. You are indeed correct; half-staff on land, half-mast on sea. Thanks for the correction!
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