Governor Youngkin orders all flags at half staff in memory of tragedy victims

Photo byW. Tingley via Unsplash

RICHMOND, Va. — Governor Glenn Youngkin has announced an order for all United States flags and Virginia State Flags to be flown at half-staff on Wednesday in honor of the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. 

In a media release emailed on September 10, Younkin stated:

In accordance with the authority vested in me as Governor, I hereby order that the flags of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia be flown at half-staff on all local, state, and federal buildings and grounds in the Commonwealth of Virginia in memory and respect for the lives lost in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and in remembrance of the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the rescue mission and in defense of the American principles of freedom, justice, and individual liberty. 

Furthermore, I urge all Virginians to seek opportunities to proudly display the flag of the United States of America—whether big or small, at your home or away at school, planted in your yard, or pinned to your lapel. Let us all pause and reflect on the heroism and sacrifice made by so many.  

I hereby order that the flags shall be lowered at sunrise on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 and remain at half-staff until sunset.

On that fateful autumn day in 2001, airline hijackings and suicide missions were committed in the eastern United States by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda. The attacks are the deadliest ever on American soil in U.S. history. 

Fifteen of the terrorists were from Saudi Arabia. Two were from the United Arab Emirates, one was from Lebanon, and one was from Egypt.

According to the official 9/11 Memorial and Museum website, the attacks killed 2,977 people from 90 nations: 2,753 people were killed in New York; 184 people were killed at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; and 40 people were killed on Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.  Thousands more were injured. Countless families were affected. 

The images that played out on television in real-time are forever in the collective memory of the world. The bravery and sacrifice of September 11 first responders continues to be an inspiration for the nation.