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FROM the FORUMS

“I’m a civilian ... It is true that troop deaths are statistics that get a one-minute mention, but please know that there are many, many Americans who feel deeply for the families of the wounded and fallen, and think our government should honor them as they have honored the slain students.”

— Susan Ruesch

“It would be nice and probably a good thing to do if our politicians would consider flying the flag at half-staff for a period of time at certain intervals. If we flew it every time someone in Iraq or Afghanistan died, it would be down almost every day. When people enlist, they are taking an oath to serve, making a sacrifice. We aren’t entitled to recognition, but those who sacrifice should be afforded that recognition.”

— Nichole

“I am a Marine and alumnae of VT. I saw firsthand what the student body went through. When a service member dies, they are celebrated, mourned, remembered and their family is given the flag on behalf of a grateful nation. Prof. [Liviu] Librescu, a Holocaust survivor, was killed blocking the door so his students could jump out the window. Air Force Cadet [Matthew La Porte] was killed after throwing a desk and rushing the killer. These actions are just as courageous as those of men in combat, but their deaths are different; they were not in a combat zone. So, out of respect for 32 massacred on home soil, it is befitting that the nation ‘tips its hat’ and lowers its flag to lives lost and acts of courage against a hostile enemy that don’t warrant the folded flag of the nation.”

— VT USMC

“I was listening to the radio the other day and someone mentioned why the military does not have a flag for fallen soldiers like POWs and MIAs. We should have a KIA flag and it should be under any U.S. flag at all times.”

— USAF Sgt. Franco

“As a Marine currently serving in Iraq, I know that I face death every day. It is, after all, in the job description. I expect my family, friends and the people of my community to mourn me. I don’t expect the entire country to shut down, lower the flag and cry themselves to sleep over me. The public respects all of our fallen warriors and you hear about it every day. They should not and will not forget these sacrifices.”

— Staff Sgt D. Carver

“The flag should be flown at half-staff until all the troops come home.”

— Sheila Grable

“When we lower the flags as a nation, it is not just to honor somebody, it is a symbol of our shared grief, of our shared need for healing. The events at VT, like those of 9/11, rattled the very psyches of the American people both young and old. And in this case, I agree that the shock to our system warranted such symbolism.”

— MP 1

“If we flew the flag at half-staff for all of our soldiers that die it would never have a day at the top. The reason that our flag flies high every day is because of the sacrifices of our dedicated Americans.”

—       doubletap57

“Our service members need more recognition for their sacrifices. Our country has become so desensitized to the issue of what is really going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and therefore, live their own lives not caring about reality. It’s really sad to consider the fact that our troops are losing their lives on a daily basis so when would the flag ever not be at half-mast? I believe that Americans need to find more ways to honor our military besides slapping ‘support our troops’ stickers on their tailgates. I commend the many Americans who do go out of their way to send items to our troops along with supporting them in other ways, yet most people could care less unless it directly affects them.”

— PROUD ARMY WIFE

“We should know when these heroes return to the states, then to their home. Our flag should be at half-staff for an appropriate time and taps rendered for each hero.”

— bob goold

“The tragedy at Virginia Tech is just that, a tragedy. [The death of] an 18 or 19-year-old serviceman is also a national tragedy. They are the backbone of this nation. The least my country or state could do is lower a flag for my brothers and sisters for a day at the base, my hometown or the Post Office. We are living in the era of shortsightedness, short memories and apathy.”

—       Sgt. TR, USMC

“We, the military, are honored every day as we see the U.S. flag fly high all around our country and across the world, for then we know we are free. Each and every one of us at one point in our lives signed our name to a piece of paper and said, ‘...that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion....’ We have volunteered to take this burden on ourselves to ensure this country and other national interests are safe and protected from danger. Those individuals who passed away at VT did not volunteer to die. We do!”

—       LT, USN

And more buzz from our readers...

“Our fallen deserve at the minimum that respect of half-staff flag raising on the military bases or installations.”

“It upset me that the flags were at half-staff for civilians. The playing of Taps and the flag flying at half-staff is for members of our military. Our flags should be at half-staff to rember all that have fallen in Iraq and other places, not for civilian purposes. We should reserve that tradition of flying the flag at half-staff for them and nobody else!”

“As a retired Sr. NCO, I have decided to fly my flag at home at half-staff until our soldiers are home safe. Many of my neighbors don’t understand the reason behind it, but then I would not expect someone that has no background of serving their country [to] understand.”

“I’m an alumnus of Virginia Tech and an officer in the USAF and I could not disagree more with the sergeant. The death of a serviceman in battle and the massacre of college students are both tragedies, but the similarities end there. While death in combat is tragic, servicemen want their flag flown proudly and their mission to be carried on, in spite of their passing. There is no precedent in the history of American warfare for the flag to be lowered due to combat attrition.”

“Being military myself, I see the half staff for VT as a major event. Half staff for KIA would fly every day, but do we really need to see that every day? We know what were getting into. Some of us look forward to go into countries and making a change for the better. We know the risk, but it doesn’t stop us. We can only tell our loved ones that this is what we wanna do and to except us for these decisions. If we fall, please live on. Do your best as we did ours.”

“The entire nation is not in mourning because military members are dying. The nation sent them and expects a number to die. That is war. If the nation is not in mourning, then the flag doesn’t fly at half-staff ... end of story. If the nation is not in mourning, ordering the flag to fly at half-staff won’t make it so. Flying the flag at half-staff when the nation is not in mourning lessens the occasions when the nation is.”

“The VT students didn’t go to school that day knowing there was a chance to be killed. When a soldier goes out on a mission, he knows there is that chance. It is a bad thing when one of us dies over there, but it is not a shock effect. Soldiers do their jobs and sometimes getting that job done requires dying. That is the life of a soldier. The soldier’s base and hometown should fly the flag at half-staff. When a firemen dies, that firehouse flies its flag at half-staff. Why not a soldier’s base? It is the same thing.”

“As a military member of an allied nation I can only say what applies here. All federal and state flags should be lowered to half-mast at the death of a service member on deployment, but that should not preclude the lowering of flags at other occasions as a national sense of mourning. We mourn and honor the service and sacrifice of our soldiers, sailors airmen/women (and your Marines), but we still mourn the horrendous collective loss and opportunity for achievement of the likes of the VT victims. I find repugnant the comment that because they weren’t service personnel, their deaths did not warrant lowering a flag.”

“You members of our armed forces, the military of the United States of America, are performing a work vital to our way of life and to the safety and security of people around the world. Your mission is noble. Your work is worthy. Your sacrifice is meaningful. When you die, you die with your boots on. You die like soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. You die doing. We mourn with your families and your loved ones. We will not desecrate your sacrifice by lowering the flag that represents everything you gave your life for. Your sacrifice, while tragic, is not a tragedy. The symbol of freedom from fear and oppression, of justice and mercy, of life and law – the flag of the United States of America – must not be lowered. Rather let it wave proudly ...”

“The [Flag] Code itself makes no provision for the flag to fly at half-staff for any other reason, to include the Virginia Tech tragedy, 9/11, or the death of any military member. But the code is only a guide ... To fly the flag at half-staff for the death of every military member sounds great until you take the time to consider the implications. If only flown one day for each military death, it would fly just about every day and the entire concept would quickly lose all meaning for everyone. What happens when a death occurs that requires the flag to be at half-staff per the U.S. [Flag] Code while the flag is on continuous half-staff for each military death? The current system is working fine. The nation’s leaders called the military to war and the nation expects military members to die. We respect their service and sacrifice, but we do not need to lessen the conceptual impact of the flag at half-staff for them.”