Why are flags at half-mast? December 7th is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

President Joe Biden and governors across the US have ordered flags to fly at half-staff on Saturday, December 7, in honor of the Americans who died at Pearl Harbor 83 years ago.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day honors the 2,403 military personnel and civilians killed on December 7, 1941, when Japanese troops attacked the U.S. naval base on Oahu, Hawaii. Over 1,000 other people were injured. Several battleships, including the USS Arizona and USS Utah, sank in the attack and 188 aircraft were destroyed.

The surprise attack marked the United States’ entry into World War II.

“Today we must be stewards of their mission and bearers of the flame of freedom that they kept burning bright,” President Joe Biden said in a proclamation Saturday.

Biden called on all federal agencies, interested organizations, groups and individuals to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff on Saturday. States issued their own orders to also lower flags in honor.

What does it mean to fly the American flag at half-mast or half-staff?

According to the federal government, the American flag is flown at half-mast on land (or at half-mast on a ship) when the United States or a state is in mourning. The President, a state governor, or the mayor of the District of Columbia may order flags to fly at half-staff. This could be honoring a government official, a military member, or a first responder. This also happens during a national tragedy or on Memorial Day or other national day of remembrance.

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Why are flags at half-mast? December 7th is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

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