What non-offical persons has a US President ordered the US flag be flown at
half-mast for?

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Clarification of Question by atxanne-ga on 07 Feb 2006 11:11 PST

Please see this website's definition of when a flag should be flown at
half mast (or half staff)
http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/halfstaf.htm
Specifically this section "The president may order the flag to be
flown at half-staff to mark the death of other officials, former
officials, or foreign dignitaries. In addition to these occasions, the
president may order half-staff display of the flag after other tragic
events." I am interested to know for whom the flag has flown at half
mast for, BESIDES officials, former officals, or foreign
dignitaries... in America or abroad. I guess I was hoping for there to
be a list somewhere with this information.

Perhaps of interest might also be when the president orders flags
lowered in honor of groups of people as well as individuals. In recent
memory, President George W. Bush has ordered flags flown at half-staff
to honor the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the victims of the
Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis, for instance.

As possible clarification: would your definition of "non-official
persons" preclude instances where the flag was flown half-staff in
honor of non-Americans such as Pope John Paul II?

It is possible that the question refers to Rosa Parks: 

http://www.amren.com/features/parks/parks.htm

The President recently ordered the flag down to half mast in honor of
the the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Does this answer your question?

tutuzdad-ga

Coretta Scott King has just received the honor.

My dad, once a Navy pilot who spent a lot of time on aircraft
carriers, told me half-mast is only for ships. Half-staff is for land.
Maybe today they are interchangeable... I'm not sure. Vexillology is
not my forte.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-7.html

http://www1.va.gov/opa/feature/celebrate/halfstaf.htm

http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/words/flagflap.html