Obma orders flags at half-staff to honor Byrd, except on July 4
CNN) President Barack Obama has ordered flags on federal buildings to fly at half-staff until the burial next week of Sen. Robert Byrd, except for Independence Day, when they should be flown at full staff to honor the veteran legislator, the White House said Wednesday.
A proclamation issued by Obama made the order "as a mark of respect for the memory and longstanding service of Sen. Robert C. Byrd," who was the longest-serving member of Congress in history. . . Entire column
A few comments on Senator Byrd's involvement with the KKK:Robert Byrd joined the Ku Klux Klan when he was 24 in 1942. His local chapter unanimously elected him the top officer of its unit. Byrd held the titles Kleagle (recruiter) and Exalted Cyclops.
In 1944, Byrd wrote to segregationist Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilba: "I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side ... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds."
In 1946 or 1947 Byrd wrote a letter to a Grand Wizard stating, "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia and in every state in the nation."
However, when running for the United Stated House of Representatives in 1952, he announced "After about a year, I became disinterested, quit paying my dues, and dropped my membership in the organization. During the nine years that have followed, I have never been interested in the Klan."
h/t: Wikipedia
