OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire today directed that Washington state and U.S. flags at all Washington state agency facilities be lowered to half-staff Tuesday in memory of U. S. Army Capt. Joseph W. Schultz, 36, son of Betsy Reed Schultz of Port Angeles.
Capt. Schultz, a Green Beret Special Forces officer, died May 29 of injuries sustained in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Flags should remain at half-staff until close of business Tuesday or first thing Wednesday morning, June 8, Gregoire said.
Earlier report:
PORT ANGELES — The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that two other soldiers died in the blast that killed Capt. Joseph William Schultz, son of Port Angeles resident Betsy Reed Schultz.
Capt. Schultz, a 36-year-old Green Beret, died Sunday when an improvised explosive device hit his Humvee in Wardak province in Afghanistan.
The blast also killed Staff Sgt. Martin R. Apolinar, 28, of Glendale, Ariz., and Sgt. Aaron J. Blasjo, 25, of Riverside, Calif.
They were each assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.
A memorial service for Capt. Schultz will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 11, at Olympic Cellars Winery, 255410 U.S. Highway 101. The service will be open to the public.
Capt. Schultz’s remains were flown Tuesday to Dover Air Force Base, Del., where his mother and uncle, Port Angeles art gallery owner Bob Stokes, went to join them.
Capt. Schultz will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Va.
He was an only child and did not have a wife or children.
He grew up in Sacramento, Calif., and Springfield, Ill., and graduated from the University of Oregon with bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics.
His mother formerly operated The Tudor Inn bed and breakfast and is a past Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce president.
She also is an organizer of the Festival of Trees, an annual benefit for the Olympic Medical Center Foundation.
