Half-Staff West Virginia Flags – Honoring Michael Lakin
Tuesday, December 27th, 2011American Flags and West Virginia Flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday, December 27th in the state of West Virginia in honor of Air National Guardsman Lieutenant Colonel Michael Lakin.
According to the office of the governor:
Lakin was commissioned as an officer in the Unites States Marine Corps. He left active duty and later joined the 130th West Virginia Air National Guard and spent over a year flying combat missions into Iraq and Afghanistan, performing challenging low-level flying into some of the world’s most dangerous airports.
As a member and flight instructor of the State Division of Aviation, Lakin piloted the State’s King Air 350 and Cessna Grand Caravan airplanes. At the time of his death, Lakin was on military leave from the State due to his active duty status with the National Guard, serving in Iraq. Lakin was tragically killed while performing stunt aerial maneuvers during a recertification skills test.