Dear Yahoo!:

Dear Yahoo!:
Who decides when a flag should be flown at half-mast?
Robert
Chaplin, Connecticut

Dear Robert:
The president and state governors are the only people who can proclaim that the American flag be flown at half-mast.

We found the answer at ushistory.org, which explains that there are three official days the flag is always flown at half-mast: Peace Officers Memorial Day (May 15), Patriot Day (September 11), and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (December 7). Gettysburg Flag Works, a commercial web site with an extensive section on flag etiquette, lists two more: Korean War Veterans Day (July 27) and Memorial Day (the last Monday in May).

The United States Flag Code dictates "the flag shall be flown at half-staff 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." The length of time varies. If a president or former president dies, the flag is flown at half-staff for 30 days. If a vice president, the chief justice, or the speaker of the house dies, it's 10 days. Members of Congress are honored on the day of their death as well as the day after.

The president or a governor must make the call to fly the flag at half-mast on any other day. And while private residences with flags aren't required to follow these rules, they are encouraged to as a sign of respect.