What Happened?—

Flag Dips,

Questions Raised

By Shannon Hicks

Newtown residents may have been confused when they drove toward the town’s flagpole on Monday morning and saw that the flag was at half-staff. The flag had been lowered around 5 pm on Sunday, February 1.

Two theories were circulating early Monday: one was that the flag was honoring Sergeant Benjamin L. Gilman of Meriden, the first Connecticut soldier to be killed in Iraq in the new year; the second thought was that the flag was lowered to pay tribute to the space shuttle Columbia astronauts on the first anniversary of the disaster that killed the crew of seven.

What became even more confusing was that the flag was then raised back up around 10 am on Monday. If the flag had been lowered to honor the soldier, who was killed on the front lines in Afghanistan, then the flag should have remained lowered, as per state practice, until Sergeant Gilman’s interment. Also, it is usually only state flags that are ordered lowered for fallen soldiers.

If it had been lowered to pay respect to the Columbia astronauts, then why did Newtown wait until late afternoon to pay its respects?

Town dispatcher Corey Robinson set the record straight Wednesday morning, saying the town’s dispatch center had received a teletype from the state on Sunday, ordering that all flags be lowered to half-staff to honor Sgt Gilman.

“We even called to make sure they wanted all flags, not just the state flags, and we were told that it was the governor’s order to have all flags lowered,” Mr Robinson said.

So Newtown Hook and Ladder was dispatched for flag duty.

On Monday morning a second teletype was received, said Mr Robinson, that rescinded the “all flags” order and changed it to state flags. That is when Newtown Hook and Ladder was sent out a second time, to raise the flag.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, who was himself uncertain about why the flag was going down and then up again, reportedly reminded Newtown Hook and Ladder and the town’s dispatch center that he is to be consulted in the future before the town’s flag is lowered.

Even David Lydem, the town’s Keeper of the Flags, said on Monday he was not contacted about the flag being lowered.