Flags are flying at half-staff across Pennsylvania today after Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered them lowered statewide to honor Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty in Schuylkill County.

Shapiro ordered flags fly half-staff at Pennsylvania facilities, public buildings and grounds — the United States flag and Pennsylvania flag — to honor Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty in Schuylkill County.

Pahira died after being struck by a tractor-trailer while conducting a commercial vehicle inspection along Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County, authorities said. A Massachusetts truck driver has since been charged in the crash, and flags will remain at half-staff until the date of Pahira’s interment, which has not yet been announced.

Why are flags at half-staff today in Pennsylvania?

Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered flags across Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff in honor of Pennsylvania State Trooper Michael Pahira, who died in the line of duty July 1. The order applies to Commonwealth facilities, public buildings and grounds statewide and remains in effect until his interment.

What’s the difference between half-staff and half-mast?

The difference between a flag flying at half-staff and half-mast depends on where the flag is flown. In the United States, flags on land are lowered on staffs, while half-mast traditionally refers to flags flown from ships and at naval stations ashore.

Who was Trooper Michael Pahira?

Pahira was a Schuylkill County native and nearly 20-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, authorities said. He enlisted in January 2007 and was assigned to Troop L in Frackville as a Motor Carrier Inspector. He was 44 years old and became the 106th member of the Pennsylvania State Police to die in the line of duty.

What happened to Trooper Michael Pahira?

State police said Pahira was conducting a commercial vehicle inspection along Interstate 81 southbound in Schuylkill County when a second tractor-trailer left the roadway and struck his marked patrol vehicle and the truck he was inspecting before hitting him. Both commercial vehicles caught fire after the crash. Pahira was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities said a Massachusetts truck driver has since been charged with homicide by vehicle in connection with the crash.

How long will flags be lowered?

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered US and Pennsylvania flags fly half-staff today and through the date of interment, or the burial or entombment of Pahira following his funeral.

Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based reporter covering trending news with USA TODAY Network’s Mid-Atlantic Connect Team. She covers news in the Northeast, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Reach her at LComstock@usatodayco.com.

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Hershey may be known as the “Sweetest Place on Earth,” thanks to its chocolate-drenched origins, but the Pennsylvania community is also home to Christian Pulisic — the most accomplished and famous player on a U.S. national team that’s dreaming big as it co-hosts the World Cup.

“Hershey to me is everything — it’s where my family is from, it’s where I grew up,” Pulisic recently said on his Instagram account as he promoted limited-edition Pulisic’s Milk Chocolate Bars by the Hershey Company that feature custom wrappers with his signature. “It’s where I learned how to play. It’s just home.”

Pulisic grew up in this south-central Pennsylvania community surrounded by farms and rolling countryside, where even the streetlights along Chocolate Avenue are shaped like Hershey’s Kisses. The community was founded in 1903 by Milton S. Hershey, the American businessman and philanthropist who also built homes for workers, a hotel and a theme park that Pulisic often visited with family.

More than 120 years later, the Hershey Company is still the economic engine of Chocolatetown, USA. But the “Man Behind the Chocolate Bar” now shares the hometown hero honor with the soccer player nicknamed “Captain America.”

Pulisic inspires young soccer players in Hershey

Pulisic’s hometown roots run deep, and during the World Cup, his community has rallied around him as the U.S. plays some of its most exciting soccer ever.

“It’s pretty amazing that he came from Hershey and played for my club,” said Hershey High School rising freshman Cecelia Stefanelli who, on a recent afternoon, kicked a ball to score a goal on her father at a field where Pulisic played.

The Americans will attempt to win their first World Cup elimination game in 24 years on Wednesday evening, when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 in Santa Clara, California. They should have a healthy Pulisic after the star missed the second group-stage game with a calf injury and played only 33 minutes as a sub in the final group match against Turkey.

“I’d love if USA won the World Cup; it’d make me happy,” said Stefanelli, a center back who also plays for the Pennsylvania Classics soccer club. Pulisic often credits the structure and coaches at PA Classics, where he played for eight years, with helping develop his skills. In 2021, he returned to the club for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new fields that he financed and helped design. It’s now known as the Pulisic Stomping Grounds.

The club is located in Lancaster County, surrounded by chicken and dairy farms that give off a pungent odor of fermenting feed and manure.

On a recent day, Liam Gustafson and Moussa Oumarou juggled a soccer ball and passed it back and forth as they warmed up for training in front of a huge collage of photos of Pulisic that trace from his childhood training to starring for the U.S. at the World Cup.

“It’s really special to see someone from around here, where we live, playing in the World Cup,” said Gustafson, a 17-year-old forward who dreams of playing pro soccer and calls Pulisic his role model. “It’s really inspiring to see someone who paved the way, so that we can do that someday.”

Pulisic’s path to USMNT stardom ran through Hershey

The road to soccer was paved early as Pulisic followed in the footsteps of his parents. He was born in Hershey on Sept. 18, 1998, to Kelley and Mark Pulisic, both former collegiate soccer players at George Mason University. His father went on to play pro indoor soccer for the Harrisburg Heat. The family moved to England for a year while Pulisic’s mother completed a Fulbright Program teacher exchange and their 7-year-old rising star played for the Brackley Town youth team.

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“Mark and Kelley could write a playbook on how to raise a humble, smart, kind superstar, while maintaining family relationships,” said Tara Seymour, a family friend and retired health and physical education teacher at Hershey Middle School. She met the family at a soccer camp and became close friends with Pulisic’s mother.

“She just quietly said to me one time, ‘We have never seen anything like this.’ This is a kid who could juggle the soccer ball hundreds of times when he was in elementary school,” Seymour said. Pulisic, she said, would practice in his backyard for hours, trying to emulate the moves of pros he saw on TV.

“He has an intensity that couldn’t be taught,” she recalled. “I think he had the opportunity to go pro earlier or go to Europe earlier and they held back just to make sure emotionally and maturity-wise he was ready.”

When the family returned to Hershey, Pulisic joined PA Classics at the age of 10. The club’s president and co-founder Doug Harris said Pulisic’s talent allowed him to play with older age groups, and he was often the smallest player on the field.

“I think if you were to pull kids in the world who want to achieve the level of Christian Pulisic, you’d have millions that would step up, raise their hand. They’re all gifted; they all can play,” Harris said. “But there’s something fundamental about what Christian has been able to do and I’d credit Mark and Kelley Pulisic with a lot of that.”

Looking forward to the future of American soccer

The Americans’ only World Cup knockout win came on June 17, 2002, when they defeated Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 in South Korea. Pulisic has said the team’s approach won’t change in this round and the mood remains light despite the high stakes.

“It’s just special to be here,” he said. “You just don’t want it to end.”

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Ahead of the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, PA Classics coaches Brittney Jakobson and Nick Jakobson took their children, Declan and Camden, to kick a ball at Pulisic’s former club. The Americans, they said, have a shot at winning the tournament. But their legacy goes beyond the trophy.

“Their goal is to inspire a generation and it’s really fun to see that happening in real time … to hear people going out and watching the games, to see people buying the jerseys,” Brittney Jakobson said.

“Pulisic, obviously, in the short term is a great kind of figure to follow,” said Nick Jakobson. “But he does very much encourage that it’s not just about him. It’s not about just these four years. It’s about the next eight, 12, 16. It’s forward-thinking, and they’re laying a good foundation for what we can build on.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here