Flags To Fly At Half-Staff For Fallen Minnesota Soldier

ST. PAUL (AP) - Gov. Mark Dayton has ordered flags flown at half-staff at Minnesota state and federal buildings Thursday in honor of Army Spec. Joseph Alan Kennedy of St. Paul.

The 25-year-old Kennedy, a native of Inver Grove Heights, was killed in combat in Afghanistan April 15.

He graduated from Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights in 2004 and joined the Army in 2009. His unit was based out of Fort Knox, Ky., and deployed to Afghanistan in January. He was on his first combat tour and had aspirations of becoming an engineer in the Green Berets. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

After funeral services at 10 a.m. at the Church of St. Patrick in Inver Grove Heights, Kennedy will be buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.