On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.

The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of our country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifices be in vain. 

Matthew Thompson