Flags to be flown at half staff today

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WORTHINGTON — Governor Mark Dayton has ordered all U.S. and Minnesota flags to be flown at half staff today at all state and federal buildings in Minnesota, in honor and remembrance of Master Sgt. Michael Charles Fastner and Lance Cpl. Robert S. Greniger.

Flags should fly at half staff from sunrise to sunset.

Greniger, 21, was a resident of Greenfield. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in November 2009, and was deployed to Afghanistan March 20, 2011. He died July 12 in the Helmand Province during combat operations.

Fastner, born Nov. 16, 1919, served in the U.S. Army in World War II and the Korean War. He died at age 31 in Feb. 28, 1951, as a prisoner of war in Pyoktong, North Korea, after enemy forces attacked his unit in the vicinity of Kunu-Ri in late 1950. His remains were recovered by the United States in 1993 and identified in September 2010.

Both men will be buried today — Fastner in St. Paul, and Greniger in Rockford.

At the direction of the governor, Minnesota flies flags at half staff following the death of Minnesota military personnel killed in the line of duty on the day of burial, including those who are returned to their families long after their service.

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