(DES MOINES)– Gov. Terry Branstad has ordered all flags in Iowa be flown at half-staff Friday, August 19, 2011 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in honor of Petty Officer Jon T. Tumilson, 35, formerly of Rockford, Iowa.
Petty Officer Tumilson was killed in action Saturday, August 6, 2011, when a Taliban rocket-propelled grenade shot down a helicopter carrying 30 Americans, including Tumilson and 21 other Navy SEALs.
Tumilson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
The U.S. flag flown over the state Capitol on the day of the funeral will be presented to Petty Officer Tumilson’s family at a later date, along with a proclamation honoring him.
The Governor’s directive applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state. H.R. 692, signed in 2007, requires federal government agencies in the state to comply with the Governor’s Executive Order that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff in the event of the death of a member of the Armed Forces.
