All U.S. and state flags at government buildings in Hawai'i will be flown at half-staff on Tuesday in honor of Navy reservist Victor W. Jeffries of Honolulu, who died on Dec. 30 as the result of a vehicle accident while on a deployment to Kuwait.

Jeffries will be interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

A physical education teacher and coach at Farrington High School, the 52-year-old Jeffries was on his third mobilization in five years, the Navy said. He was assigned to the Navy Operational Support Center at Pearl Harbor.

On a previous mobilization with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 at Pearl Harbor, Jeffries had maintained and operated small boats and equipment used by the SEALs, the Navy said.

The petty officer 1st class worked in Kuwait as a mass communications specialist for Navy public affairs.

Jeffries died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany from injuries sustained in a Dec. 24 vehicle accident outside Kuwait City, the Navy said.

"Petty Officer Jeffries was a professional sailor dedicated to the Navy," Cmdr. Mark Schwart-zel, the commanding officer for Jeffries' unit in Kuwait, Navy Customs Battalion Tango, said in a release.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaclyn King, 23, who worked with Jeffries, said, "We had a father-daughter type of relationship. He's a little bit older and he's always trying to help me figure out what's right.

"I miss him teasing me. He used to always put spiders on my desk, but on Christmas Eve before this (the accident) happened, this time he left me my Christmas gift, and he's not going to be able to come back and I can't tell him thank you, and I just miss him."

Jeffries deployed to Kuwait in October. Fellow sailors called him "a fountain of youth" who loved to be the father of the bunch, the older brother or the uncle whom everyone wanted.

Jeffries is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and daughters Keshia and Chantel.

"Our state and our nation are grateful for the sacrifice and contributions of Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffries," Gov. Linda Lingle said in a release. "He served as a role model for many Hawai'i youth in the classroom, and his patriotism and bravery serve as an inspiration for all of us."

A law signed by President Bush in June authorizes state governors to order the national flag to be flown at half-staff after an armed forces member dies while serving on active duty, Lingle's office said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.