Sebelius directs flags to half-staff for Staff Sgt. Bachman
Governor asks Kansans to honor fallen Guardsman

Governor Kathleen Sebelius has directed flags to be flown at half-staff throughout Kansas from sunup to sundown on Saturday, August 11, 2007, in honor of Staff Sgt. Travis S. Bachman of the Kansas National Guard who was killed in Iraq last week.

“Sgt. Bachman has made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of his country.  We honor that sacrifice and send our thoughts and prayers to his family,” Sebelius said.

Bachman, Garden City, enlisted with the Kansas National Guard in 1993 while still in high school.  He deployed to Iraq last year with the 714th Security Force Company.  Bachman is survived by his wife, Amber, three children, and his parents, Rodney and Connie Bachmann, also of Garden City.

This past July, Sebelius signed an executive order allowing for the flags of the United States and State of Kansas to be displayed at half-staff throughout the state when a member of the Kansas National Guard or Kansas Air National Guard is killed in the line of duty, or when a Kansas resident serving as a member of the United States Armed Forces is killed in the line of duty.  In each instance, the date the flags will fly at half-staff will be designated by the Governor.

Since April 2003, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed the lives of nine members of the Kansas National Guard and seven Kansas servicemen.

Executive orders can be found online at: http://www.governor.ks.gov/executive/Orders/default.htm

To be notified of the governor's directives regarding flag lowering, please visit http://www.governor.ks.gov/flaghonors.htm

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