9/11 Observation - Half Mast Flags

As I was staring out my office window this morning, I noticed several flags were at half mast. I found myself staring at one of them from above and thinking about the events of 9/11 and remember all those who died that day and in the years afterward because of that day.

I looked at other buildings from my window and noticed not all of them had their flags at half mast. I was intrigued, particularly when I saw that the Peoria Public Library downtown did not have its flag at half mast. So, I decided to conduct a little research on my lunch hour to see how many buildings and/or businesses had their flags at half mast. Here are the results of my very informal study (basically places I drove by on my lunch hour):

Flags at Half Mast:
United States Courthouse
Peoria County Courthouse
Commerce Bank Building (downtown)
Holiday Inn City Center
Caterpillar headquarters
U of I Medical School
USDA Ag Lab
Great Central Insurance
City Hall
Becker Building
AmerenCILCO

Flags not at Half Mast:
Peoria Public Library (downtown)
Hotel Pere Marquette
Cub Foods (Knoxville)
Uftring Chrysler (University & War Memorial)
Lakeview Museum
Southside Bank (Sheridan Village)
Bergners (Sheridan Villiage)
Peoria County Health Department
One Tech Plaza
Veteran's War Memorial (on riverfront)

I also checked the Civic Center but I couldn't find any flags on the property, which I thought was strange. I also could not see any flags near either of the hospitals downtown.

Then I decided to research online when the flag is required to be at half mast, if it ever is. As it turns out, there are several days that are considered "official" dates to fly the flag half mast. They are:

Peace Officers Memorial Day - May 15th
Memorial Day - Last Monday in May
Korean War Veterans Day - July 27th
Patriot Day - September 11th
Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day - December 7th

There are also special instructions for flags that cannot be flown at half mast (such as those often seen on private homes or on the Pere Marquette).

Now, I am not an overly patriotic person. I don't have stickers on my car or in my windows about America, the war, freedom, etc. However, I am very proud to be a citizen of the United States and love my country and believe I don't have to proclaim this by using bumperstickers or wearing patriotic clothes all the time. I do not support the war in Iraq and oppose the notion that the only true "patriots" are those who support the war and President Bush.

All that being said, I think all flags should be flown half mast on September 11th. And not just because it is an "official date" for doing so. It does all of us good to stop and remember those who died and the reasons they died and be thankful we are still living. At the very least, I believe our public buildings should be flying their flags at half mast including the Public Library, Lakeview, the health department, and the park district's veteran's memorial. Particularly that last one, don't you think?

Update: As of 3:15 pm today, the Public Library has lowered its flag to half mast. Although I would like to, I won't take the credit.