Here's why flags are flying half-staff starting Dec. 15 in Massachusetts

Gov. Maura Healey ordered flags in Massachusetts to continue flying at half-staff on Friday in honor of a 24-year-old Air Force member who died on a training mission off the coast of Japan last month.

Jacob “Jake” Galliher was killed Nov. 19 along with six of the seven other airmen aboard the lost CV-22, whose bodies have been recovered as of Dec. 14. The eighth airman is still missing and is presumed dead, the Air Force said.

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All flags, including the United States flag, will be lowered from Dec. 15 until sunset on the day of interment on Wednesday, Dec. 20.

Flags were already at half-staff since Dec. 7 in honor of Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey, who was killed when a car collided into a work site in Waltham that he and National Grid employee Roderick Jackson were working at on Dec. 6.

Galliher was a 2017 graduate of Taconic High School in Pittsfield and “a deeply beloved member of this community,” the city said in its repatriation announcement. Galliher, his wife, Ivy Groshong-Galliher, and their 2-year-old and 2-month-old sons, had lived on a military base in Japan before his death.

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Galliher’s body will arrive at Westover Air Reserve Base at approximately 3:15 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15, the press relations office at Westover said.

Members of the public looking to pay their respects are invited to line the streets along the route in the afternoon in Lee and Pittsfield. Arrival times are subject to change and updates will be shared on the City Hall — City of Pittsfield Facebook page.

• Read more: How to watch Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey’s funeral online

Members of the public can pick up flags at the following locations in Pittsfield:

• City Hall at 70 Allen St.
• Department of Veteran’s Services at the Senior Center, at 330 North St.
• Pittsfield Fire Department Headquarters at 74 Columbus Ave.
• Colonial Theatre at 111 South St.

The motorcade will travel from the airport down the Massachusetts Turnpike and end at Dery Funeral Home on Bradford Street in Pittsfield.

The family will have private time at the funeral home, the city said, adding that the route was requested by Galliher’s family. Only those invited and authorized personnel are allowed to drive in the procession, the city of Pittsfield advised.