Palo Alto Flags Fly Half-Staff In Honor Of General Colin Powell

PALO ALTO, CA — Flags outside Palo Alto City Hall, the municipal service center and all city buildings and fire stations are being flown at half-staff in honor of the late General Colin Powell.

According to Powell's family, he died Monday morning due to complications from COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated. He was 84 years old.

"We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment. We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," his family said in a statement.

Peggy Cifrino, Powell’s longtime aide, said he had also been treated over the past few years for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that impairs the body’s ability to fight infection. Studies have shown that those cancer patients don’t get as much protection from the COVID-19 vaccines as healthier people.

A veteran of the Vietnam War, Powell spent 35 years in the Army and rose to the rank of four-star general before becoming the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His oversight of the U.S. invasion of Kuwait to oust the Iraqi army in 1991 made him a household name, prompting speculation for nearly a decade that he might run for president, a course he ultimately decided against.

President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on the Powell's death.

"He believed in the promise of America because he lived it. And he devoted much of his life to making that promise a reality for so many others. He embodied the highest ideals of both warrior and diplomat. He led with his personal commitment to the democratic values that make our country strong. He repeatedly broke racial barriers, blazing a trail for others to follow, and was committed throughout his life to investing in the next generation of leadership," the proclamation, in part, reads.

Flags in Palo Alto will be flown at half-staff until sunset on Friday, Oct. 22.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.