Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered flags in Iowa to half-staff tomorrow (Tuesday) to mark the burial of two Navy heroes. Services for former Commander and prisoner of war, 82-year-old Larry Spencer of West Des Moines, will be held at 10 a.m. at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Adel. Spencer was shot down in 1966 over North Vietnam during a reconnaissance escort mission and was held as a prisoner of war for nearly seven years. Following his release, he continued to serve in the Navy at the Pentagon and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The other Iowan to be buried Tuesday is Navy Fire Controlman 3rd Class, Jack Breedlove of Cedar Rapids. Breedlove was 19 years old when he was killed on the USS Oklahoma during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Scientists with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains in March of 2021. Breedlove will be buried Tuesday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be half-staff on all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state from sunrise to sunset on Tuesday, May 31. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties, and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect. Flags were also ordered to half-staff this (Monday) morning from sunrise to noon for Memorial Day.
