All Star Flags August, 2011 | All Star Flags - Part 2

American Flags and Virginia Flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday, August 23rd in the county of Prince William, Virginia in honor of US Army Ranger Sergeant Alessandro L. Plutino.

American Flags and Minnesota Flags to fly at half-staff Monday, August 22nd in the state of Minnesota in honor of Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Operator John Weston Faas.

According to the office of the Governor:

Chief Special Warfare Operator Faas enlisted in the United States Navy in 1999, and became a member of the Navy SEALS in 2001. Chief Special Warfare Operator Faas earned numerous medals, including the Bronze Star Medal (3) and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. He died a hero on Saturday, August 6, 2011 in Afghanistan during combat operations.

Sometime during the July 4^th weekend, a flagpole was erected on Masonboro Island, a spoil island near channel marker 151 on the Intracoastal Waterway between Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach.  The pole, complete with Old Glory, bears a plaque reading “In Memory and Honor of the U.S. MILITARY past and present who Defend our Freedom” and is dated July 4, 2011.  Since the island is state-owned property, the flagpole must be relocated or it will be removed.  A group of boaters calling itself the “Anonymous Patriots” erected the pole and has 14 days to remove the pole.  Carolina Beach Town Manager Tim Owens has offered to provide a new location for the pole if the group will donate it.  We at All Star have offered our services to Carolina Beach to reinstall the pole free of charge to help the group’s good intentions be realized.  Stay tuned!

American Flags and West Virginia Flags to fly at half-staff Saturday, August 20th, in the state of West Virginia in honor of Corporal James Samuel Murray.

According to the office of the Governor:

Murray enlisted in the United States Army at the age of seventeen in 1946. He served in both World War II and the Korean War as a member of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division. While serving in the Korean War, Corporal Murray was captured and marched with other prisoners to the unmarked Suan Bean Korean prison camp in North Korea. He was mortally wounded, while being held prisoner of war, during an Allied air raid on a North Korean supply depot adjacent to the Suan Bean prison camp on April 22, 1951.
 
Unidentified remains of United States servicemen were turned over to the United States by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the 1990’s. Final identification of Corporal Murray’s remains was made in December 2010, through investigation and DNA testing.

American Flags and Kansas Flags to fly at half-staff Friday, August 19th in the state of Kansas in honor of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Nichols.

CW2 Nichols, of Hays, was killed in action in Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  The 31 year old was one of 30 brave Americans killed when their Chinook helicopter crashed after taking enemy fire.

American Flags and Oregon Flags to fly at half-staff Saturday, August 20th, in the state of Oregon in honor of Navy Hospitalman Ryley Gallinger-Long.

HN Gallinger-Long, 19, of Cornelius, Oregon, died August 11 while conducting a dismounted patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

American Flags and New Jersey Flags to fly at half-staff Friday, August 19th, in the state of New Jersey in honor of US Marine Corporal Nicholas S. Ott.

American Flags and Massachusetts Flags to fly at half-staff Saturday, August 20th, in the commonwealth of Massachusetts in honor of Specialist Nicholas P. Bernier.

American Flags and Iowa Flags to fly at half-staff Friday, August 19th in the state of Iowa in honor of Petty Officer Jon T. Tumilson.

Petty Officer Tumilson was killed in action Saturday, August  6, 2011, when a Taliban rocket-propelled grenade shot down a helicopter carrying 30 Americans, including Tumilson and 21 other Navy SEALs. Tumilson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

American Flags and Hawaii Flags to fly at half-staff Thursday, August 18th in the state of Hawaii in honor of  U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Christopher L. Camero.