# Flag at half-staff today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214 "2015-03-17T17:16:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/1 "2015-03-17T17:16:25Z")
Today, March 17th, 2015. All day long, the flag at the local UAW hall across the street has been flying at half-staff. Nobody at my work has any idea why. Did somebody famous die? Was there a disater someplace? Did another state pass Right To Work legislation? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/2 "2015-03-17T17:21:00Z")
No idea. All the flags at my location remain full-staff. Curious. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/3 "2015-03-17T17:25:23Z")
Maybe it has to do with the Florida helicopter crash in which 11 servicemen died? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/4 "2015-03-17T17:26:03Z")
It could be a very local thing. The flags at my college alma mater would be at a half-staff whenever a trustee died. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/5 "2015-03-17T17:26:58Z")
ETA: The UAW website has no mention of it for this day. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/6 "2015-03-17T17:26:59Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > It could be a very local thing. The flags at my college alma mater would be at a half-staff whenever a trustee died. As a trustee, I think this is a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/7 "2015-03-17T17:27:38Z")
Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/8 "2015-03-17T17:29:17Z")
Likely the helicopter crash off the Florida coast. Three of the lost were [from Michigan](http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/03/12/michigan-marines-helicopter-crash-florida-dead-unknown-status-marcus-bawol-andrew-seif/70219552/): Marcus Bawol, Andrew Seif, and Trevor Blaylock. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-at-half-staff-today/715214/9 "2015-03-17T17:32:17Z")
If it’s just across the street, maybe you could amble over there and ask someone? When I see flags at half-staff, I sometimes ask someone at the place where I see it – sometimes at a police station, fire station, or post office. Half-staff flags at fire stations are often something local or regional, like firefighters getting killed in some local or regional wildfire. Sometimes I also turn on the news radio, which will have non-stop chatter about it, if it’s some major national thing. That’s how I learned about the Columbia wreck in February 2003.