USPS is reminding employees about special flag requirements for two holidays this month:
• Peace Officers Memorial Day, which honors police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, is Friday, May 15.
Postal Service facilities are required to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff this day. When the U.S. flag is flown at half-staff, all other flags must fly at half-staff, too.
To fly the flag at half-staff, hoist the flag to the peak for an instant and then lower it to the half-staff position. The flag should be raised to the peak again before it’s lowered for the day.
• Memorial Day, a federal holiday to remember the men and women who died while serving in the armed forces, is Monday, May 25.
Facilities that are open on the holiday must fly the U.S. flag at half-staff.
The U.S. flag must be flown at half-staff from sunrise — or the hour when it’s raised — until noon. Then, hoist the flag to the peak of the staff, where it either must fly until the time of closing or no later than sunset (unless the flag is lighted).
Again, when the U.S. flag is flown at half-staff, all other flags must fly at half-staff, too.
Facilities that fly the flag at all times and are closed Memorial Day should lower the flag to half-staff when the facility closes prior to the holiday. Return the flag to full staff when the facility opens Tuesday, May 26.
For more information, refer to the Postal Service’s guidelines for U.S. flag display and maintenance, as well as requirements for displaying the POW-MIA flag.
