Law requires agencies to fly flags as ordered
July 3, 2007
WASHINGTON — When 22-year-old Army Spec. Joseph Micks of Rapid River, Mich., was killed in Iraq last July, Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered flags across the state flown at half-staff. But some federal agencies ignored her.
Now, they can’t.
President George W. Bush signed legislation late last week requiring federal agencies to comply with any governor’s order to lower flags to half-staff in honor of military men and women who fall in the line of duty.
Micks’ Upper Peninsula congressman, Bart Stupak, sponsored the legislation, saying it ensures local offices won’t be waiting for a directive from their regional offices to lower their flags.
“The least our government can do is ensure we honor the family in a manner that is befitting of their profound loss,” said Stupak, a Menominee Democrat, who named the new law for Micks.
Micks was killed, according to a release last summer by Granholm’s office, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations in Ramadi.
Stupak’s legislation puts to rest a question that has been raised several times since Granholm issued a proclamation in 2003 requiring flags to be lowered in honor of fallen military personnel.
Even Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson balked at first, wondering if by lowering the flags, officials could undermine support for what he called the war on terrorism. He later agreed to lower the flags on government buildings after a veteran met with him and said it was an appropriate way to honor the men and women who fall in war.
The Free Press has identified 163 service men and women with Michigan ties who have died in Iraq.
