Shirley orders flags to half-staff

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., today proclaimed that flags on the Navajo Nation to be flown at half-staff from Jan. 30 through Feb. 2 in honor and remembrance of the late U.S. Army Sgt.Clifton Yazzie, who was killed in Iraq last week.

"The Navajo Nation unites and offers prayers for his family during this time of grief," President Shirley said.

Sgt. Yazzie, 23, of Fruitland, N.M., was one of three soldiers killed Jan. 20 by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Al Huwijah, Iraq. He was with the 101st Airborne Division and was serving his second tour of duty.

A funeral service for Sgt. Yazzie will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Farmington Civic Center. Burial will be at the Green Lawn Cemetery in Farmington.

Sgt. Yazzie was married to Michelle Yazzie and was the father of two children, Chaynitta, 3, and Cayden, 18 months.

He was a 2001 graduate of Kirtland Central High School and was a member of the state championship basketball team in his senior year. Sgt. Yazzie belonged to Apostolic Faith Tabernacle in Fruitland.

A special account has been set up at the Four Corners Credit Union in Kirtland.

Funeral arrangements are Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home, 103 E. Ute St., Farmington, N.M. Its telephone number is 505-325-8688.