When a flag is lowered to the middle of the pole, it remembers a sorrowful event or anniversary that impacted the public.

The terms are often used interchangeably, but half-staff refers to a flag hanging halfway up on a flag pole on land, while half-mast pertains to a flag flying halfway up the mast on a ship at sea.

Flags across Pennsylvania have been lowered to half-staff after a fire chief lost his life in the line of duty. Governor Josh ...

President Joe Biden and governors across the U.S. have directed that flags fly at half-staff Saturday, December 7, in honor of Americans who died at Pearl Harbor 83 years ago. National Pearl ...