Is it not Half Mast when it is flying on a ship, half staff when it is flying on a flag pole? If so, when is it half mass? Is this a correct term?

[american_flag_uk]

well ive never heard of half MASS before... maybe u head half MAST incorrectly or the person said it wrongly??

the flag code refers to it as HALF STAFF referring to flagpoles on land.

[Peter Ansoff]

The terms "half-staff" and "half mast" mean the same thing, and can be used interchangably. I suspect that littlefoote5 is correct that "half staff" originally referred to land displays and "half mast" to ships. The Flag Code calls it "half-staff," probably because the original language of the code was adapted from Army rather than Navy regulations.

The President's proclamation on 17 April used "half-staff," but also stated that it applied to flags flown on navy ships.

Regards,

Peter Ansoff

Peter is correct. i was looking it up just a couple of days ago because i have a report due soon on the American Flag.

do I fly the flag at halh mast on memorial day

[Peter Ansoff]

balliss: do I fly the flag at halh mast on memorial day

According to paragraph 7m of the flag code, the flag should be flown at half-mast until noon on Memorial Day, and then raised to full mast.

Regards,

Peter Ansoff