FROM THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered all U.S. and state flags to fly at half staff Monday, March 2, in honor of SPC Walter Lewark, the Mountainair soldier who died serving his country in Djibouti.

SPC Lewark, 26, died Feb. 13 at Camp Lemonnier while deployed as a member of the New Mexico Army National Guard to the Horn of Africa. He was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment, 93rd Troop Command out of Rio Rancho.

As a guardsman, he earned the Army Service Medal and a National Defense Service Medal. At home, he served his community as a Mountainair police officer and volunteer firefighter in Torrance County.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Moriarty Civic Center. Interment will take place at a later date at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.

Per Gov. Lujan Grisham’s executive order, flags will fly at half staff from sundown Sunday through sundown Monday to coincide with services for SPC Lewark.