HONOLULU – Gov. Linda Lingle has ordered state flags at all state and county buildings to be flown at half-staff on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2008, from sunrise to noon, out of respect for veterans who have sacrificed their lives for the nation, and at full-staff from noon until sunset as a symbol of our enduring nation.

The governor's order is in conjunction with President George W. Bush's order that all U.S. flags be flown at half-staff on Memorial Day from sunrise to noon.

On Monday, Lingle will deliver remarks at the annual Governor's Memorial Day Service and lay a wreath at the Memorial Plaza Monument at the Hawai'i State Veterans Cemetery in Kane'ohe in honor of the service and sacrifices made by generations of Hawai'i men and women in order to protect our nation's freedom and democracy. The service will begin at 1 p.m.

Also on Memorial Day, Lingle and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona will participate in the tenth annual floating lantern ceremony at Ala Moana Beach Park. The floating of thousands of lanterns in a sunset ceremony known as Toro Nagashi is practiced in Japan to pay respect to ancestors and to comfort the spirits of the dead. The event is sponsored by Na Lei Aloha Foundation. The ceremony will begin at 6:00 p.m.

Aiona will participate in the Memorial Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. The ceremony is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m.