Flag at half-staff was inappropriate

Whitney Houston had a great voice, and I am sure that her music will live on for many years to come. However, she was not a hero and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie erred when he had the flags lowered to half-staff after her death. That right is reserved for heads of state and fallen heroes — the brave men and women who died in service to this country.

I fought in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 and lost 26 friends who were America’s best. Many of them gave their lives for me or one of the other Marines we were with and came home with the American flag draped over their coffin. To associate someone who killed herself buy using illegal drugs to our real heroes is an insult to all who served and the families that were left behind.

If we lowered the flag for every singer and musician who died because of drugs, it would have been hard to find a time in the 1960s and ’70s when the flag was at full staff. Let’s keep our priorities straight. Heroes get the honor, not the so-called “idols” of today.

Gary Hoerauf

Prospect Heights