All Star Flags August 15, 2011 | All Star Flags

American Flags and Arkansas Flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday, August 16th, in the state of Arkansas in honor of Air Force Tech Sergeant John W. Brown and Navy Master Chief Tommy Ratzlaff.

Tech. Sergeant Brown sacrificed his life when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down while on a mission to rescue a U.S. Army Ranger unit from enemy fire. A member of the U.S. Navy Seals Special Ops Assault Team, he was currently serving as a paramedic in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron in Pope Field, North Carolina.

Master Chief Ratzlaff was a highly decorated combat veteran of 12 deployments.  Ratzlaff sacrificed his life when his CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down while on a mission to rescue a U.S. Army Ranger unit from enemy fire. He was a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs Special Ops Assault Team, out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

American Flags and Connecticut Flags to fly at half-staff in the state of Connecticut in honor of Sergeant Edward J. Frank II.

American Flags and Maine Flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday, August 16th, in the state of Maine in remembrance of the Honorable Dan Gwadosky.

According to a release from the office of the Governor of Maine:

“Dan held a long and successful political career for the State of Maine. He served 18 years representing his hometown of Fairfield in the Maine House of Representatives from 1979-1996. Dan was elected Assistant Majority Leader in 1986 and House Majority Leader in 1988 before being elected Maine’s 92nd Speaker of the House. In 1997 he was elected Maine’s 46th Secretary of State and served as President of the National Association of Secretaries of State from 2002-2003. Dan most recently held the position of Director of the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverage and Lottery Operations and served this past year as Chairman of the National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association (NABCA).”

American Flags and Virginia Flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday, August 16th through Monday, August 22nd in the commonwealth of Virginia in honor of those who were killed in the Afghanistan helicopter tragedy on August 6, 2011.

Servicemen assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit:

1. Lt. Cmdr. (SEAL) Jonas B. Kelsall, 32, of Shreveport, La.
2. Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis J. Langlais, 44, of Santa Barbara, Calif.
3. Senior Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Thomas A. Ratzlaff, 34, of Green Forest, Ark.
4. Senior Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Kraig M. Vickers, 36, of Kokomo, Hawaii
5. Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Brian R. Bill, 31, of Stamford, Conn.
6. Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) John W. Faas, 31, of Minneapolis, Minn.
7. Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 35, of West Hyannisport, Mass.
8. Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, of Kansas City, Mo.
9. Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, Texas
10. Chief Petty Officer (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist/Diver) Nicholas H. Null, 30, of Washington, W.Va.
11. Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Robert J. Reeves, 32, of Shreveport, La.
12. Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Heath M. Robinson, 34, of Detroit, Mich.
13. Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Darrik C. Benson, 28, of Angwin, Calif.
14. Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell, 36, of Jacksonville, N.C.
15. Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist/Freefall Parachutist) Jared W. Day, 28, of Taylorsville, Utah
16. Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara, 26, of South Sioux City, Neb.
17. Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) Michael J. Strange, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa.
18. Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL/Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist) Jon T. Tumilson, 35, of Rockford, Iowa
19. Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn, 30, of Stuart, Fla.
20. Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah.

Servicemen assigned to West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit:

1. Petty Officer 1st Class (SEAL) Jesse D. Pittman, 27, of Ukiah, Calif.
2. Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Nicholas P. Spehar, 24, of Saint Paul, Minn.

Servicemen assigned to the 135^th and 138th Aviation Regiments:

1. Chief Warrant Officer David R. Carter, 47, of Centennial, Colo; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Aurora, Colo.
2. Chief Warrant Officer Bryan J. Nichols, 31, of Hays, Kan.; assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.
3. Sgt. Patrick D. Hamburger, 30, of Lincoln, Neb.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), Grand Island, Neb.
4. Sgt. Alexander J. Bennett, 24, of Tacoma, Wash; assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.; and
5. Spc. Spencer C. Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan.; assigned to the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment (General Support Aviation Battalion), New Century, Kan.

Servicemen assigned to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Field, N.C.:

1. Tech. Sgt. John W. Brown, 33, of Tallahassee, Fla.
2. Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Harvell, 26, of Long Beach, Calif.
3. Tech. Sgt. Daniel L. Zerbe, 28, of York Pa.

American Flags and Washington State Flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday, August 16th, in the state of Washington in memory of US Army Sgt Alexander J. Bennett.

Sgt. Bennett died with 29 other service members August 6, in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their helicopter crashed.