MEDIA RELEASE

Gov. Neil Abercrombie this morning ordered that all national and Hawaii flags at all state offices and agencies as well as the Hawaii National Guard are to be flown at half-staff Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011 in memory of Senior Chief Petty Officer Kraig M. Vickers.

U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician SCPO Vickers was a member of an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit which was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Thirty service members, including SCPO Vickers, died Aug. 6, 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed.

SCPO Vickers, 36, was a 1992 Maui High School graduate. A memorial service is planned Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Maui Arts and Cultural Theater. SCPO Vickers will be laid to rest at Valley Isle Memorial Park in Haiku.

“We honor Senior Chief Petty Officer Vickers and all of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice as a result of their duty to the nation and fellow soldiers,” Abercrombie said. “My deepest sympathies go out to Senior Chief Petty Officer Vickers’s family and friends.”