TO:              Brian Fienemann, Director of Real Estate Management and Development Kerby Smith,

                     Chair of County Commission, Lake County Jimmy Burry, Mayor of  Leesburg

FROM:        Governor Ron DeSantis

DATE:         Friday, January 19, 2024

RE:              Flags at Half-Staff in Honor of US Army Airforce Staff Sergeant Franklin P. Hall

Sergeant Franklin P. Hall was a native Leesburg, Florida, resident who enlisted to fight in World War II. Hall was shot down while on a mission assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron. The members of his crew were found by the Germans and his remains were interred in France. After the war, Hall’s remains were placed in Normandy, but still not identified and Sergeant Hall remained listed as MIA. Upon notification from the Department of Defense that Sergeant Hall’s remains were identified, he will finally be laid to rest in his hometown of Leesburg, Florida, on Sunday, January 21, 2024.

To honor the memory of Sergeant Franklin P. Hall and his service to our country, I hereby direct the flag of the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff at the Lake County Courthouse in Tavares, Florida, and the City Hall of Leesburg, Florida, from sunrise to sunset on Sunday, January 21, 2024.

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