Reflections on Flag Day: The rising wave of lowering the flag to half-staff in Wisconsin

After years of effort, a Waubeka, Wisconsin school teacher successfully lobbied for the 1916 creation of the annual observance of National Flag Day. Every year since on June 14th the United States commemorates its flag as an emblem of the country, a standard for promoting patriotism and activism, and a focal point for national pride in our democracy. Every year since 1966 the United States commemorates “National Flag Week” as Congress so designated: during the week in which June 14 occurs.

The flag commands respect – as a symbol of the Republic’s founding principles of liberty and freedom. The flag also confers respect—as it is hoisted to the peak and lowered to half-staff to honor the deceased who have served under it.

During the last several years, the U.S. and Wisconsin flags were lowered to honor the deceased a record-breaking number of days. In 2021 in Wisconsin, the flags flew at half-staff in silent, solemn salute on 95 days—more than a quarter of the year. The sixteen presidential proclamations and thirty-two gubernatorial proclamations in 2021 included sixty-seven more days of lowered flags than in 2020, and almost three times as many days as in 2018 (the year that the previous highest number of days of symbolic mourning were ordered in Wisconsin). Also notable, since 2018 half-staff honors were ordered for a greater diversity of persons and circumstances.

While other traditions of public mourning and honor have waned, the flag tribute has become even more common. Typically, the flag flew at half-staff a few times per year during the 19th and 20th centuries; in recent decades half-staff orders hovered around a couple of dozen per year. However, due to changes in law and authority, and due to broad interpretations of their powers, presidents and governors have long since gone beyond lowering the flag only a few times a year to mark the past public service of deceased government leaders; instead the number of half-staff salutes have surged.

Two phenomena led to the marked increase in flag salutes: changes in civilian laws and changes in military policy priorities. Congressional Acts in 2008 and 2018 permitted gubernatorial half-staff orders for local deceased fallen armed forces members and local first responders, respectively. Presidents and governors expanded interpretation of these laws to also mark moments of immediate national and local grief, such as mass shootings and the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy.

Secondarily, an increase in flag salute frequency is due to the success of the mission-driven work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (https://www.dpaa.mil/). Established in 2015, this Department of Defense agency has recovered and brought home hundreds of armed forces personnel from past U.S. conflicts, and honored their service with full military burial.

Following presidential orders, Wisconsin lowered its flags in 2021 and 2022 on all five, Congressionally-authorized annual occasions– Peace Officers Memorial Day (May), Memorial Day until noon, Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance (September 11), National Fallen Firefighters (October but moved to May in 2023), National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (December 7).

Additionally in 2021, Wisconsin followed presidential half-staff orders honoring deceased Americans on 58 more days — for a total of sixty-three federally proclaimed days. The federal orders included honoring two United States Capitol Police Officers at the January 6th insurrection (two days), the victims of the US Capitol attack (five days), 500,00 Americans lost to COVID-19 (five days), victims of four specific mass killings (five days each), victims of the terrorist attacks at the Kabul Afghanistan Airport (five days), and the statutorily-proscribed days of mourning for a former vice-president (eight days), a former Cabinet member (five days), a former senator (seven days), and a Congressman (1 day).

Similarly in 2022 Wisconsin followed presidential half-staff orders honoring deceased persons on the five Congressionally-mandated days and on thirty-seven more days — for a total of forty-two federally proclaimed days. The federal orders included honoring, the victims of the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Highland Park, Illinois (five days each), 1,000,000 Americans lost to COVID-19 (five days), England’s Queen Elizabeth II (twelve days), Japan’s former Prime Minister (three days) and the statutorily-proscribed days of mourning for a former Cabinet member (five days) and a Senator (two days).

Since Congressional Acts in 2008 and 2018 state governors’ powers to issue half-staff proclamations have become essentially unlimited. In 2021 Governor Tony Evers issued thirty such orders, adding thirty-two state proclaimed days to the president’s 2021 proclamations. In 2022, the governor issued fifteen half-staff orders, adding seventeen state proclaimed days to the president’s 2022 proclamations.

Governor Evers’ 2021 orders honored two members of the judiciary (one day each), five public servants who died after contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty (one day each), seven first responders (one day each), two Korea War era veterans (one day each), three military members (one day each), one state representative (one day), Hmong-Lao Veterans (one day), Wisconsin Firefighters Memorial Day (one day), Peace Officers Memorial Day (one day), Waukesha Christmas Parade Tragedy victims (four days total) and five World War II soldiers (one day each, although one day overlapped with September 11).

Governor Evers’ 2022 state orders honored a state judge (one day), a former lieutenant governor (one day), four firefighters (one day each), two state senators (one day each), two state representatives (one day each), a United States Postal worker (one day), Hmong-Lao Veterans (one day), Wisconsin Firefighters Memorial Day (one day), Peace Officers Memorial Day (one day), 1st Anniversary of the Waukesha Christmas Parade Tragedy (one day), and the 10th Anniversary of the Oak Creek Sikh Temple tragedy (one day).

NUMBER OF DAYS THE FLAG LOWERED TO HALF-STAFF IN WISCONSIN

In 2023, the president has signed five half-staff orders with a total of seventeen flag-salute days, most of those days due to three mass shootings. Wisconsin’s governor has signed an additional eight such orders thus proclaiming twenty-five days this year to date that Wisconsin’s flags have been lowered in silent salute.

Concerns exist that presidents and governors might use their proclamations as a mean to garner political points or as a show of executive leadership. Others are concerned that the power, meaning and sincerity of half-staff flag salutes might become diluted by becoming too common, even ordinary.

Despite speculations as to any other motivation, when the flag flies at half-staff it does – for that day – focus and unite Americans and Wisconsinites in honoring patriotic and heroic deceased persons for their contributions to the nation’s founding and persistent principles of service, liberty and justice.

Flag Day itself is designed to focus Americans on those same democratic principles that unite us. As President Woodrow proclaimed on the first National Flag Day, our thoughts as patriotic citizens should be redirected away from “forces within and forces without that seemed likely to draw us away from the happy traditions of united purpose and action of which we have been so proud” … and around which the flag rallies its citizens.

THE BACKSTORY

Post Civil War, a movement arose by veterans to protect the hard-fought-for U.S. flag from commercialism and disrespect. In 1885 the first formally recognized Flag Day ceremony was held in Waubeka, Wisconsin at Stony Hill School. Currently the restored schoolhouse is located near the National Flag Day Americanism Center.

President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed June 14th as National Flag Day in 1916, commemorating the date in 1777 when the Second Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes design.

In 1923 the flag-protection movement met in Washington DC for the first National Flag Conference. Participants from over sixty civic and military groups drafted the first code of flag etiquette. Franklin Delano Roosevelt incorporated the code of etiquette when he codified the U.S. Flag Code in 1942. The Code defined the rules for flag display and acts of respect, generally.

Congress originally allowed a limited number of circumstances that the president could order the lowering of the flag to half-staff on land and half-mast on sea. Protocols adopted by President Eisenhower in 1954 gave specificity in limiting the flag-lowering honors. Essentially lowering the flag occurred: 1) until noon on Memorial Day and 2) “upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory…” Specifically the flag is marked at half-staff on land and half-mast at sea for a president (30 days); for a Vice President, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Speaker of the House of Representatives (10 days); for a Secretary of an executive or military department, a former Vice President, or the Governor of a State, territory, or possession (from date of death to day of internment); and for a Member of Congress (2 days). Eisenhower then added specificity-lacking provisions that the “president could order flags to half-staff in the event of the death of other officials, former officials or foreign dignitaries, or in accordance with recognized customs or practices not inconsistent with law.” 4) U.S. Code Chapter 1 § 7.

Four decades later Congress began to broaden the scope by which presidents, and now governors, may order flags to be flown at half-staff. In 1994, Congress added Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15th, and created National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day on December 7th.

In 2001, Congress added Patriot Day on September 11th, and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service to be held the first Sunday in October. After September 11, 2001, a time of terrorism and war led to more frequent orders to fly flags at half-staff. Under a state law Wisconsin in 2011 added Wisconsin Firefighters Memorial Day, observed on Saturday of Fire Prevention Week, and in 2019 added Hmong-Laos Veterans Day on May 14th.

In 2008 Congress authorized governors to issue flag-lowering honors when a member of the Armed Forces dies while serving on active duty. Ten years later the 2018 Honoring Hometown Heroes Act extended the gubernatorial authorization to proclaim the flag should be flown at half-staff to honor local police, firefighters, and emergency responders.