Honoring the Victims of the Montcoal, West Virginia, Mine Disaster — Historical Half-Staff Proclamation, 2010

Historical notice: this observance has ended. This independent FORTISVEX resource preserves a past presidential directive; it is not a government notice.

Remembering those lost in Montcoal

President Obama's Proclamation 8497 honored the people who perished in the mine explosion in Montcoal, West Virginia. The document is brief: its tribute and operative flag instruction appear together in one paragraph. Its purpose was to mark respect for the victims through half-staff display at the specified locations.

The proclamation does not contain a detailed account of the explosion, a casualty list, or findings about its cause.

A presidential order with a state-specific scope

Although issued by the President, this was not a nationwide flag order. Its geographic scope was the State of West Virginia. The exact locations named were “all public buildings and grounds and at all military facilities and naval stations of the Federal Government in the State of West Virginia.” The full sentence is reproduced below so readers can see the directive's wording.

The order ran until sunset on April 18, 2010; it did not specify a numerical clock time for sunset. April 12 is the formal date on the proclamation. April 15 is the Federal Register publication date, not a substitute for the formal document date.

Full official proclamation text

Proclamation 8497 of April 12, 2010 — Honoring the Victims of the Montcoal, West Virginia, Mine Disaster
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

As a mark of respect for the memory of those who perished in the mine explosion in Montcoal, West Virginia, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at all public buildings and grounds and at all military facilities and naval stations of the Federal Government in the State of West Virginia until sunset on April 18, 2010.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

Official federal proclamation text from Federal Register page 19867. Page headings and line wrapping are omitted for readability; the signature is represented by the name above.

Verify the official document

Read or download the official proclamation PDF from GovInfo · Read the Federal Register record

Find related historical directives in the Presidential Half-Staff Archive.

Signature page from the official published proclamation

Select the published page to open the official PDF.

Preparing a remembrance display

Explore U.S. flags at FORTISVEX when choosing a flag for your location. Review the specific product's material, size, and attachment details for a suitable display.