{"id":199469,"date":"2026-03-20T18:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T18:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/199469\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T18:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T18:01:10","slug":"gov-desantis-orders-flags-at-half-staff-to-honor-cody-khork-in-winter-haven-tallahassee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/199469\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. DeSantis orders flags at half-staff to honor Cody Khork in Winter Haven, Tallahassee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff Saturday in Tallahassee and Winter Haven to honor Capt. Cody Khork, the Polk County soldier killed in the Middle East as a result of the conflict with Iran.<\/p>\n

DeSantis directed all U.S. and state flags at half-staff from sunrise to sunset at the state capitol and all local and state government buildings, installations and grounds in Winter Haven, according to a memorandum.<\/p>\n

Khork, 35, was among six Army Reserve service members killed March 1 in a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait. The incident is still under investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is remembered not only for his service to our Nation and State but as a true American hero who exemplified the values of patriotism, leadership, and selfless service,\u201d DeSantis said in the memo. \u201cOur prayers go out to the family he leaves behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the city of Winter Haven<\/a>, Khork\u2019s long military career included enlisting in the National Guard in 2009.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021, and Poland in 2024,\u201d the city said.<\/p>\n

Khork won numerous accolades during his military career, including the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, the city also said.<\/p>\n

Khork\u2019s family described him as patriotic with a deep sense of duty.<\/p>\n

He was \u201cthe life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him,\u201d his mother, Donna Burhans, father, James Khork, and stepmother, Stacey Khork, said in a statement, The Associated Press reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Several Florida lawmakers reacted by honoring Khork<\/a> immediately after his death was announced.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnn and I offer our deepest condolences to his family, and extend the endless gratitude of our state and nation for which he made the ultimate sacrifice to protect,\u201d U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said in a statement on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff Saturday in Tallahassee and Winter Haven to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[92243,412,232,234,233,21956],"class_list":["post-199469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-cody-khork","tag-ron-desantis","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news","tag-winter-haven"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}