HARTFORD — Governor Ned Lamont is directing US and state flags in Connecticut to be lowered to half-staff beginning at sunrise on Wednesday, August 3, through sunset on Thursday, August 4, in honor of Master Sergeant Michael D. Clark of Bolton, who was killed by a lightning strike during a training exercise with the US Army Reserve at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga.

Accordingly, since no flag should fly higher than the US flag, all other flags, including state, municipal, corporate, or otherwise, should also be lowered during this same duration of time.

Calling hours and a funeral service in his honor are scheduled to be held on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, in Windsor.

Master Sergeant Clark, an operating room specialist assigned to the 933rd Forward Resuscitative Surgical Company, 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support), served in the US Army and US Army Reserve for more than 22 years and was deployed four times in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was attending a training exercise at Fort Gordon on July 20 at the time of the lightning strike, which injured nine other soldiers.

He was raised in Glastonbury and is a graduate of Glastonbury High School. After high school, he enlisted in the Army, where he trained as an operating room technician.

According to his obituary MSG Clark, 41, followed basic training by taking military specialization training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, before returning to Connecticut where he took a position as an OR technician at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

He then continued serving in the Army as a reservist and was deployed four times, serving in Kuwait, Iraq, and two tours in Afghanistan. Throughout his 22-year career in the military, MSG Clark also served on multiple other humanitarian missions throughout the world.

He is survived by his wife, two children, his parents, a sister and brother-in-law, a niece and nephew, his mother-in-law and her husband, two sisters-in-law, “and many friends, fellow soldiers, and colleagues.”

According to the Associated Press, the lightning strike that took the life of MSG Clark happened around midday July 20 as a thunderstorm moved through the area. The weather event also injured nine others.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.