The US Honor Flag will be making a stop in Federal Way on June 21 as part of its West Coast tour honoring those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

The event will be at 1:30 p.m. on June 21 in front of City Hall at the flag pole.

The ceremony will honor the memory of fallen police officer Brian Walsh. Mayor Linda Kochmar and City Manager/Police Chief Brian Wilson will be featured speakers for the 35-minute ceremony.

Federal Way is only one of six police agencies in the area to host the U.S. Honor Flag. Federal Way will be honoring 34-year-old Officer Brian Walsh who died earlier this year on March 21 while in the line of duty. Walsh was a five-year veteran of Federal Way’s police force.

After the Federal Way ceremony, the flag will travel to the Lakewood Police Department for a similar program in honor of that city’s four fallen officers. The flag will then make stops at the Pierce County, Lewis County and Grant County sheriff's departments before heading to the State Capitol for a ceremony there. The flag will then travel to Oregon and California for the rest of its tour.

Background on the U.S. Honor Flag

The U.S. Honor Flag was originally gifted to now-Ret. U.S. Army Lt. Chris Heisler by the Texas House of Representatives shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. While in the military, he carried this particular flag with him to Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq to fly with American soldiers in combat zones.

Heisler felt compelled to take action after 9/11, and with this flag in tow, he set out for Ground Zero. Along the way, he helped to organize and be part of one of the longest police motorcades in the history of the United States bound for Ground Zero, bringing many tokens of support to our nation’s heroes.

This is the flag that flew over Ground Zero and a suggestion was made that this flag continue to fly in support of our heroes. The Honor Network was born. For more information on the flag and the Honor Network, visit www.USHonorFlag.org.