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Iowa flags to fly at half-staff Tuesday for Iowa soldier killed in Afghanistan
Gov. Terry Branstad is ordering flags to fly at half-staff next week to honor an Iowa soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Branstad has ordered all flags in the state to be flown at half-staff from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to honor U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Steven Blass.
The 27-year-old from Estherville in northwest Iowa was among five crew members killed March 11 in a helicopter crash in Kandahar province. His funeral is scheduled Tuesday in the Estherville High School gym.
The Des Moines Register reports Blass was married and had a young son. Blass enlisted in the Army in 2006 and was on his second combat deployment.
Branstad's order applies to all state-owned flags and those in federal government buildings in Iowa.
Staff Sgt. Steven P. Blass of Estherville, who died in a Black Hawk crash March 11 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (image via Department of Defense)
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