how to display half mast on a building

[k.a.m.]

at my office we fly both texas and american flags that hang at angles on the building.my question is how to display half mast with not enough mast to do so? is there another way to show respect?

[american_flag_uk]

is there any mamount of the pole beween the flag and the building? ?? if there is u could just slightly bring the flags toward the building a little - not at the end of the pole.... if not aenough room for any movement you cant half staff... but doesnt mean ur not being respectful... its just not possible to do!---

the other alternative is if u have smaller flags you can put up the pole wthat would give staff space to pull back on the half staff days

[Peter Ansoff]

is there another way to show respect?

One way that I've seen it done is to attach black cloth streamers or ribbons to the top of the pole. In some countries, it is customary to attach black ribbons to the flag itself -- I recall that this was done after the terrorist attacks in Madrid, Spain for example. Here our flag code frowns on attaching things to the US flag, but streamers on the pole are completely appropriate.

Peter Ansoff

[aturner]

Hi - I would like to know if we are supposed to fly our flag at half mast on 9/11??? Thanks, Amy T.

[Peter Ansoff]

I would like to know if we are supposed to fly our flag at half mast on 9/11???

Dear Amy,

Yes. President Bush issued a proclamation on September 4th saying that:

"I . . . call upon the people of the United States to observe Patriot Day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and remembrance services, to display the flag at half-staff from their homes on that day, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. eastern daylight time to honor the innocent Americans and people from around the world who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."

Peter Ansoff

[mike_fj40]

Shame on McDonald's for not respecting our flag. I drove past the local franchise this evening. The flag was at 2/3 mast and was unlit. Sloppy, disgraceful and disrespectful. A sad sight on a sad day.

[Peter Ansoff]

Hi, Mike,

Shame on McDonald's for not respecting our flag.

Well, I'm not sure I'd be too hard on them -- at least they're trying. In some cases it's not possible to fly the flag halfway down the pole, because it would cause it to brush the ground. The point is to leave an empty space at the top as a token of mourning, and they certainly did that.

With respect to lighting, I don't think that's as important as it used to be. The flag code says only that it is the "universal custom" to fly the flag from sunrise to sunset unless it's lighted. The intent, I think, was to reduce wear and tear on the flag -- there was no point in flying it when nobody could see it. That was before the days of synthetic fabrics, however. Now, flags can last for years even if they're flown 24 hours a day.

What really disgusts me is people who put flags on their cars, and leave them there even when they've become torn and filthy. The irritating thing is that they probably think of themselves as patriots.

Peter Ansoff