Flags lowered to honor 3 Michigan Marines
State buildings across Michigan including the Capitol will lower their flags to half-mast Monday at the order of Governor Rick Snyder, honoring of three Michigan Marines who died during a training exercise in Florida.
Trevor Blaylock, of Lake Orion, Andrew Seif, of Holland and Marcus Bawol, of Warren were three of 11 men who died on the March 10 when a Black Hawk helicopter plunged into the ocean just off the Florida Panhandle.
The lowering of flags for servicemen killed in training, rather than combat, is relatively unprecedented in Michigan. As they stand, current flag protocols state that flags are to be displayed at half-mast to honor, “members of our Armed Forced killed in the line of duty.”
Seif was awarded the Silver Star Medal less than a week prior to the crash, and was named Marine of the Year in 2013. The other casualties of the crash include four additional Marines and four Louisiana National Guard soldiers.
