Flags in Hawai‘i to be lowered through Thursday in honor of John Henry Felix

Gov. Josh Green has ordered the United States and state of Hawai‘i flags to be flown at half-staff at all state offices and agencies, as well as the Hawai‘i National Guard, from sunrise today to sunset on Thursday in honor of John Henry Felix.

Memorial services will be on Wednesday.

“Few people have lived a life that reads more like an epic novel than John Henry Felix,” said Gov. Green. “From assembling Red Cross care kits as a schoolboy for children caught in war, to risking his life in war zones to bring relief to refugees and orphans, to building institutions that continue to serve our people today, John Henry embodied service above self for over eight decades. His fingerprints are on the humanitarian infrastructure of entire regions — from Kalaupapa to Cambodia — and his work has saved and bettered the lives of untold thousands. Hawai‘i has lost a giant in compassion and public service. On the day we lower our flags, we honor not only his remarkable achievements but the boundless heart behind them.”

Born and raised in Honolulu, John Henry Felix dedicated his life to advancing the common good. His roles spanned Chair Emeritus of the Hawai‘i Red Cross, founder of multiple Red Cross Societies in the Pacific, field delegate in international relief efforts across Southeast Asia and Africa, Chair of the American Red Cross International Committee, and distinguished leader in the Boy Scouts of America and March of Dimes. Among countless honors, he was the first American to receive the International Red Cross Dunant Medal of Honor and was designated a Distinguished Eagle Scout.

Throughout his life, Felix demonstrated an unparalleled ability to merge bold vision with boots-on-the-ground action — whether it was building a prosthetics factory in Cambodia, leading refugee repatriation efforts, or personally comforting orphans in war-torn regions. His “Walking Blood Donor Program” in remote Pacific islands — a precursor to mobile blood banks — reflected his signature ingenuity and deep care.