President Obama orders flags to fly half-staff in honor of Chattanooga shooting victims

WASHINGTON -- Five days after the shooting in Chattanooga, President Barack Obama has ordered that flags be flown half-staff at the White House, public buildings, military posts and embassies in honor of the lives lost in the Chattanooga shooting.

Here is the full text of his proclamation:

Our thoughts and prayers as a Nation are with the service members killed last week in Chattanooga. We honor their service. We offer our gratitude to the police officers and first responders who stopped the rampage and saved lives. We draw strength from yet another American community that has come together with an unmistakable message to those who would try and do us harm: We do not give in to fear. You cannot divide us. And you will not change our way of life.

We ask God to watch over the fallen, the families, and their communities. As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on July 16, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, July 25, 2015. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortieth.

BARACK OBAMA

Meanwhile, the flags at the U.S. Capitol were lowered to half-staff on Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement that as Congress returned to session on Tuesday, the flags were lowered for the Navy sailor and four Marines killed.

McConnell said America continues to mourn the men, and the thoughts of the Senate are with their families and loved ones as well as all service members who serve around the world.

The shooting occurred at two military facilities.