All Star Flags Half-Mast Flags | All Star Flags - Part 39

American Flags and Illinois Flags to fly at half-staff Thursday, October 4th in the state of Illinois in honor of USMC Second Lieutenant Dwight Ekstam.

According to the department of defense:
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of seven servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being buried with full military honors.

Marine Corps 1st Lt. Laverne A. Lallathin of Raymond, Wash.; 2nd Lt. Dwight D. Ekstam of Moline, Ill.; 2nd Lt. Walter B. Vincent, Jr. of Tulsa, Okla.; Tech. Sgt. James A. Sisney of Redwood City, Calif.; Cpl. Wayne R. Erickson of Minneapolis; Cpl. John D. Yeager of Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Pfc. John A. Donovan of Plymouth, Mich., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on Oct. 4, in Arlington National Cemetery. Six of the Marines were identified and buried as individuals previously this year. Lallathin, also individually identified, will be interred individually at Arlington on the same day as the group interment.

On April 22, 1944, the Marines were aboard a PBJ-1 aircraft that failed to return from a night training mission over the island of Espiritu Santo, in what is known today as Vanuatu. None of the seven crew members were recovered at that time, and in 1945 they were officially presumed deceased.

In 1994, a group of private citizens notified the U.S. that aircraft wreckage had been found on the island of Espiritu Santo. Human remains were recovered from the site at that time and turned over to the Department of Defense.

In 1999, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) survey team traveled to the location. The crash site was located at an elevation of 2,600 ft., in extremely rugged terrain, and the team determined that specialized mountain training would be necessary to safely complete a recovery mission. From 2000 to 2011, multiple JPAC recovery teams excavated the site and recovered human remains, aircraft parts and military equipment.

To identify the remains, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) evaluated circumstantial evidence and mitochondrial DNA, which matched that of the Marines’ family members.
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American Flags and Virginia Flags to fly at half-staff Thursday, October 4th at the Capitol complex in Virginia in honor of US Navy Gunners Mate 2nd Class Dion R. Roberts.

Flags are also authorized for display at half-staff in the City of Virginia Beach and in any other locality as deemed appropriate.
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American Flags and Arizona Flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday, October 2nd in the state of Arizona in honor of US Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie.

According to the office of the governor:
US Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie was killed early this morning while he and two other agents responded to an alerted ground sensor outside Bisbee in a remote area frequented by cross-border drug smugglers. A second agent – who has not yet been identified – was injured in the shooting but has been released from the hospital. Agent Ivie joined the Border Patrol in 2008. Flags will be lowered again on the day of his interment, the details of which are still pending.
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UPDATE
American Flags and Arizona Flags to fly at half-staff on the day of interment, Thursday, October 11th in honor of US Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie.

Maine State Flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday, October 2nd in the City of Bath, ME in honor of Bath City Councilor Ruthe Pagurko.

According to the office of the governor:
Ruthe Pagurko died unexpectedly in her home in Bath on Friday, September 28, 2012 at the age of 63. She was serving her eighth year as a city councilor and was noted for her numerous volunteer efforts with the Christmas and Heritage Day parades, the Bath Soup Kitchen, Girl Scouts, Maine Maritime Museum, Midcoast Symphony Orchestra and Maine Music Theater, among others.
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American Flags and Arizona Flags to fly at half-staff Friday, September 28th in the state of Arizona in honor of US Army Staff Sergeant Orion Sparks.

According to the office of the governor:
Staff Sgt. Sparks died Sept. 26, in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent wearing a suicide vest detonated the device near their patrol. Sparks was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Schweinfurt, Germany.
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American Flags and Illinois Flags to fly at half-staff Saturday, September 29th through Monday, October 1st in the state of Illinois in honor of US Navy Gunners Mate Second Class Dion Roberts.
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American Flags and Arkansas Flags to fly at half-staff Saturday, September 29th in the state of Arkansas in honor of US Army Sergeant Jason M. Swindle who died while serving in Afghanistan.
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American Flags and Colorado Flags to fly at half-staff Monday, October 1st in the state of Colorado in honor of Sgt. Mary Ricard who died while working at an Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility.
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North Carolina Flags to fly at half-staff Wednesday, September 26th at the State Capitol, State Highway Patrol Offices and State Facilities in Wake County in honor of State Capitol Police Chief W. Scott Hunter.

According to the office of the governor:
Chief Hunter became State Capitol Police chief in 2003 and oversaw its move in 2009 from the Department of Administration to what is now the Department of Public Safety. He previously served 18 years with the State Highway Patrol, rising from field officer to the rank of captain and serving as the national law enforcement liaison for the Buckle Up America initiative.
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Wyoming Flags to fly at half-staff Saturday, September 22nd at the Capitol and in Freemont County in honor of former State Representative Harold E. Meier.

Mr. Meier represented Fremont County in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977.
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