We Remember
COOPERSTOWN—A member of the Cooperstown Police Department drops the Main Street flag to half mast on September 11, in memory of those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks. (Photo by Chip Northrup)
For anyone that has actually ever been to Oklahoma, there is one rather glaring omission. Based entirely on a Dust Bowl-era play about settlers, neither Rodgers nor Hammerstein had a clue about life on the prairie when they adapted the play as a musical. What they left out was a lot: Cherokees, Choctaws, and Comanches.…
Half-staff when it’s on land.
Half-mast when it’s on a ship.
Therefore, Half-staff.
Cambridge Dictionary: A flag that is at half mast has been brought down to a point halfway down the pole as an expression of sadness at someone’s death:
The flags at City Hall were all flying at half-mast.
Associated Press Stylebook: “On ships and at naval stations ashore, flags are flown at half-mast. Elsewhere ashore, flags are flown at half-staff.”
Though we primarily use AP style, we do have our own company stylebook that, in some cases, diverges. 🙂
Fair enough. I respectfully concede.