One week after the death of U.S. Army Sgt. James G. Johnston, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered flags across two Texas counties to fly at half-staff.
On July 2, flags were lowered in Bell and Coryell County to honor the life and military service of Sgt. Johnston. Coryell County was included because it is the home of Johnston's wife, who is expecting a baby in November.
Johnston was killed on June 25 while in Afghanistan supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel. The 24-year-old was deployed to the Uruzgan Province in March 2019.
The flags will return to full staff at sunset.
Fort Hood is honoring Johnston's service by including boots representing him and Master Sgt. Michael Riley, who was killed in the same incident, to its field of more than 7,000 others. The boots represent service members who lost their lives in battle since the 9/11 attacks.
Last week, flags in Harris, Smith and Galveston Counties, as well as the capitol, were lowered to half-staff in his honor. Those flags were later raised at sunset on Friday.
