Flags lowered Wednesday for Army Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Leach

LANSING, Mich.--By order of Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, U.S. flags on all campuses of Western Michigan University and throughout Michigan will be lowered Wednesday, July 11, in honor of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew J. Leach, of Ferndale, Mich., who died June 26 while on active duty in Afghanistan.

Leach, 29, died in Kandahar, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was assigned to the 1/334th Regiment, 1st Brigade, 104th Training Division (Leader Training), in Fraser, Mich.

Leach joined the Army in 2003 and served on active duty with two deployments to Iraq. He then joined the Army Reserve in 2008 and was on his first deployment to Afghanistan.

Funeral services will be held at the Great Lakes National Cemetery, 4200 Belford Road in Holly, Mich., at noon on Wednesday, July 11.

Former Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm issued a proclamation in 2003, requiring U.S. flags to be lowered to half-staff throughout Michigan and on Michigan waters to honor Michigan servicemen and servicewomen killed in the line of duty. Michigan was among the first states to honor its fallen sons and daughters by lowering flags.