Last week, a citizen contacted The Review and asked why the flag at the Orion Veterans Memorial was not lowered to half staff, given the tragic loss of more than 30 U.S. servicemen in one incident in Afghanistan earlier in the month. We contacted Dr. Joseph A. Mastromatteo, chairman of the memorial, and he provided the following response:

Dear Editor,
In reference to why the American flag at the Orion Veterans Memorial is not lowered to half staff at certain times, this is because of the high standard to which our memorial holds.? The flag cannot be lowered until we are notified by the President or our Governor.
We know our community has come to rely on the accuracy of our flag protocol to guide them on the executive orders that come from the President or our Governor.? Anyone can receive this same information by visiting the web site at Michigan.gov, click on Half-Staff Flag Alerts then on Sign-Up For E-Mail.
The Orion Veterans Memorial will continue to hold to this high standard.
If a citizen is in disagreement with the government’s edict on flag honors, a solution would be to contact their U.S. and State Senators and Representatives concerning this most important issue.
Dr. Joseph A. Mastromatteo
Chairman, Orion Veterans Memorial