Flags lowered to honor war casualty

October 08, 2010

Flags lowered to honor war casualty

Under a proclamation signed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, the United States flag and the Illinois flag are to be flown at half-staff at all State of Illinois facilities in honor of a U.S. Army soldier killed last month in the war in Afghanistan.

Flags are to be flown at half-staff beginning at sunrise, Sunday, Oct. 10, until sunset, Tuesday, Oct. 12, in honor of Sgt. Mark A. Simpson.

Reports indicate that Simpson, 40, of Peoria, died Sept. 26 from injuries received in a Sept. 25, attack north of Kandahar. Simpson and another soldier died in the attack.

Simpson was deployed with the 584th Mobility Augmentation Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade out of Fort Hood, Texas. Simpson graduated from Richwoods High School in Peoria in 1988. He joined the U.S. Army in 2004. He previously served a deployment in Iraq beginning in August 2006, according to reports.