Why Are Flags at Half-Staff Today in Belmont?

Photo courtesy of the town of Reading

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, in accordance with the Presidential proclamation, has ordered that the United States flag and the Commonwealth flag be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise until sunset on Tuesday. Oct. 6, in honor of the victims of the tragedy in Roseburg, Oregon on Oct. 1.

Additionally, the U.S. flag and the Commonwealth flag shall be flown at half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise until sunset on Tuesday, Oct. 6, in honor of Sergeant Christopher Y. Vars, U.S. Army, of Reading, Mass., who was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on November 29, 1950.

Sgt. Vars was the recipient of many awards including the Purple Heart, the POW & Mia Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and several others. The Sergeant’s remains returned to the United States on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015 and he will be buried with full military honors on October 6, 2015.

The funeral for Army Sergeant Christopher Vars will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6 10:30 AM at the First Congregational Church at 25 Woburn Street in Reading. Burial will follow at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, MA. Vars will be buried with full military honors.

In late 1950, Vars was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division (ID), which was deployed north and east of the town of Kunu-ri, North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, 2nd ID was forced to withdraw south to a more defensible position after being attacked by Chinese forces. Before they could disengage, the 2nd ID had to fight through a series of Chinese roadblocks, commonly known as “the Gauntlet.” Vars was reported missing in action during the battle, according to The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).

In 1953, during a prisoner of war exchange, returning American soldiers who had been held as prisoners of war reported that Vars was not among the many men captured and held as prisoners.

Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea turned over to the U.S. 208 boxes of human remains now believed to contain at least 600 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. North Korean documents turned over with some of the boxes indicated that some of the remains were recovered from the vicinity where captured soldiers from Var’s unit were believed to have died.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website atwww.dpaa.mil or call (703) 699-1420.

Flags at Town Hall and Danvers Square will be flown at half-mast on Monday, Oct. 5, and Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Click here to learn more about when the flag should be flown at half staff.

• The main or administration building of each public institution of the Commonwealth.
• Other state-owned or state-controlled buildings.
• All state military installations.