The White House on Thursday lowered the U.S. flag above the Executive Mansion to half-staff, a move that came one week after Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom was fatally shot in Washington, D.C., while serving on a public-safety deployment near the nation’s capital.
In a proclamation, President Donald Trump ordered flags at the White House and across federal facilities to fly at half-staff through sunset Dec. 4 in honor of Beckstrom, a 20-year-old West Virginia Guard member who died from her injuries after the Nov. 26 ambush.
“As a mark of respect for the memory of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, West Virginia Army National Guard, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, December 4, 2025,” Trump said in the proclamation.
“I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.”
The directive also applies to U.S. embassies and military installations worldwide.
Beckstrom and fellow service member Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe were patrolling in downtown D.C. when a gunman opened fire at close range, killing Beckstrom and critically wounding Wolfe.
Authorities have charged Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal with first-degree murder and related offenses.
The half-staff tribute places a national marker on the loss felt in Beckstrom’s hometown of Webster Springs, where friends and family have remembered her as kind, driven, and eager to build a future in law enforcement.
State leaders had already ordered flags lowered in West Virginia, and Thursday’s White House order extends that recognition to the entire country.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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