Flag etiquette · The recurring observances
Why the flags fly at half-staff.
Five days every year, the United States flag flies at half-staff by law — and the Texas flag follows the same days. Each one honors a different group of Americans. Here is what each day is for, how long it lasts, and where the rule comes from. The calendar also marks Veterans Day, when the flag deliberately stays at full staff.
Peace Officers Memorial Day
When: May 15 · How long: Sunrise to sunset · Flags: United States & Texas
This day honors law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day in 1962, and the week around it is National Police Week, when officers from across the country gather in Washington, D.C., for a memorial service at the U.S. Capitol honoring those lost the year before.
Texas honors its own fallen officers on the same day, with a memorial at the state Capitol in Austin. The U.S. Flag Code, 4 U.S.C. § 7(m), sets the flag at half-staff for the day.
Memorial Day
When: Last Monday in May · How long: Sunrise to noon, then raised to full staff · Flags: United States & Texas
Memorial Day honors the American service members who died in the nation's wars. It began as Decoration Day after the Civil War, when families decorated soldiers' graves, and became a federal holiday observed on the last Monday in May in 1971.
It is the only half-staff day that lasts just half a day. The flag flies low through the morning in mourning, then is raised briskly to full staff at noon — a long-standing custom meaning that the living carry on, and that those who fell did not die in vain.
Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
When: July 27 · How long: Sunrise to sunset · Flags: United States, at federal buildings & installations
On July 27, 1953, the armistice signed at Panmunjom ended three years of fighting in Korea. More than 36,000 Americans died in the conflict — often called the Forgotten War — and over 100,000 were wounded, holding the line that kept South Korea free.
Congress set the day in 36 U.S.C. § 127, which directs federal agencies and installations to fly the flag at half-staff. It is a narrower order than the five nationwide days — it binds federal buildings and installations rather than every flag in the country — but it takes the flag low all the same, so it belongs on this calendar.
Patriot Day
When: September 11 · How long: Sunrise to sunset · Flags: United States & Texas
Patriot Day remembers the 2,977 people killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 — at the World Trade Center in New York, at the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania after its passengers fought back. Congress created the observance in December 2001.
Americans observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Eastern, the moment the first plane struck the North Tower. Since 2009 the day has also been the National Day of Service and Remembrance, honoring the victims by helping others.
National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
When: First Sunday in October · How long: Sunrise to sunset · Flags: United States & Texas
On this Sunday, the nation honors firefighters who died in the line of duty during the previous year. Their names are added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, during Fire Prevention Week, and their families receive a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol.
In 2001, Congress directed that the flag fly at half-staff nationwide on the day of the national memorial service, so communities across the country lower their flags in step with the ceremony in Emmitsburg.
Veterans Day
When: November 11 · How long: Full staff all day · Flags: United States & Texas
Veterans Day honors everyone who has served in the United States Armed Forces — the living above all. It began as Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. In 1954, Congress renamed it Veterans Day so it would honor veterans of every war and every era of service.
Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day is a celebration, not a day of mourning — so the flag flies at full staff from sunrise to sunset, and lowering it on November 11 would actually be a mistake. Knowing when the flag stays high matters just as much as knowing when it flies low.
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
When: December 7 · How long: Sunrise to sunset · Flags: United States & Texas
December 7 marks the 1941 surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which killed 2,403 Americans, sank or damaged 19 ships, and drew the United States into World War II the following day.
Congress named the date National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in 1994. Survivors and their families still gather at Pearl Harbor each year, where a moment of silence is held at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time — the moment the attack began.
One-time orders
Beyond these five recurring days, the President can order the U.S. flag to half-staff for a national tragedy or the death of a leader, and the Governor of Texas can do the same for the Texas flag on a state occasion. Texas most recently lowered its flags on October 7, 2026, in solidarity with Israel on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks — sunrise to sunset that day only.
The rule behind the calendar: the standing dates are set by the U.S. Flag Code (4 U.S.C. § 7(m)). Under Texas Government Code Chapter 3100, the Texas flag observes the same days, so both flags on our homepage rise and fall together.