Florida honors Colin Powell by lowering flags to half-staff

ORLANDO, Fla. — On Monday, General Colin Powell passed away at 84 years old.

“General Colin Powell was a patriot of unmatched honor and dignity,” said President Joe Biden. “The son of immigrants, born in New York City, raised in Harlem and the South Bronx, a graduate of the City College of New York, he rose to the highest ranks of the United States military and to advise four Presidents.”

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Powell was the United States’ first Black secretary of state, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and national security advisor.

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Gen. Colin Powell through the years Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger confers Army Maj. Gen. Colin Powell during testimony before the Senate Budget Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 8, 1985. Sen. Pete V. Domenici, R.N.M., chairman of the panel, told Weinberger the nation's security needs can be met at a spending level "smaller in the next three years than the level requested by the President." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years Lt. Gen. Colin Powell, the sent number two man on the National Security Council, has been nominated by President Reagan to succeed Frank Carlucci as his National Security Adviser and toad the NSC. Powell is shown at a White House ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 5, 1987 in Washington for outgoing Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger. Carlucci has been named to succeed Weinberger. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook) (Dennis Cook/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years FILE- In this December 20, 1989 file photo, General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefs newsmen at the Pentagon on the predawn invasion designed to oust General Manuel Antonio Noriega and bring him to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges. Noriega, a onetime U.S. ally who was ousted by an American invasion in 1989, died late Monday, May 29, 2017, at age 83. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File) (DOUG MILLS/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years Gen. Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, points to a group of American troops at an airbase after his arrival in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Sept. 13, 1990. Powell will visit American forces stationed on the ground in Saudi Arabia and on ships in the Gulf, as well as Saudi military officials, during his visit. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J.Scott Applewhite/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years U.S. Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf casts a knowing smile toward the media as he sits with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell, Sunday morning, February 10, 1991, at a military briefing. Powell and Defense Sec. Dick Cheney are finishing up a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia, where they have been assessing the Gulf War. (AP Photo/John Gaps III) (JOHN GAPS III/Associated Press)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years Air Force Maj. Lee Gustin, pilot of the F-117 Stealth fighter at left, tells Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, left, and Defense Sec. Dick Cheney about the high-tech aircraft at a secret airbase in Saudi Arabia, Feb. 10, 1991. Cheney and Powell visited the F-117 unit before ending a weekend of meetings in Saudi Arabia and departing for home. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years Gen. Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks to airmen inside a hanger at a secret airbase in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Feb. 10, 1991. Powell and Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, left, visited the airbase, where F-117A Stealth planes are based, during a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years President George H.W. Bush talks to reporters in the Rose Garden of the White House on Feb. 11, 1991, after meeting with top military advisors to discuss the Persian Gulf war. From left are, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, Vice President Dan Quayle, White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, the president, Secretary of State James A. Baker III, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Colin Powell. The president said that the air campaign in the Gulf will continue. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) (Ron Edmonds/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years FILE - In this Sept. 25, 1991, file photo, Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gestures on Capitol Hill in Washington, at a House Armed Services subcommittee. Powell was the first black officer to serve as Joint Chiefs chairman, and held the job from Oct. 1, 1989, in the waning days of the Cold War, to Sept. 30, 1993. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander, File) (Marcy Nighswander/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years Britain's Prime Minister John Major, right, shares a joke with General Colin Powell, Chairman, U.S. Joint Chief of Staff prior to the UK Presidency Conference in London, Sept. 7, 1992. Major underlined the government's total commitment to the Maastricht Treaty on the European Community during his keynote speech at the conference on the future on Europe. Powell also spoke to the group. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver) (Martin Cleaver/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell speaks to a group of students at American University in Washington on Monday, Dec. 1, 1992. Powell told the group he didn't believe lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military would "break the force" but added the military is "struggling how best to handle that" should President-elect Clinton lift the ban as promised. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander) (Marcy Nighswander/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Colin Powell gestures during a news conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1993 in Washington to discuss the Defense Department's Bottom up Review. The Pentagon unveiled the plan on Wednesday which calls for a five-year defense strategy that further shrinks the U.S. military in favor of a "lean, mobile, high-tech force" that would enable America to fight wars on two fronts. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander) (Marcy Nighswander/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell poses in his Pentagon office on Thursday, Sept. 9, 1993 in Washington. The nation's first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retires on September 30 after 35 years in uniform. Powell says he can walk away from his high-powered Pentagon without regrets, but feels a responsibility to return to public life to help America's minority youth. (AP Photo/Barry Thumma) (Barry Thumma/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 07: Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell (2nd L) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) look on during an unveiling ceremony for Powell's official State Department portrait in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department December 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. Powell served as Secretary of State from 2001-2005 under former U.S. President George W. Bush. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 07: Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell walks by his official State Department portrait after an unveiling ceremony with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the State Department December 7, 2009 in Washington, DC. Powell served as Secretary of State from 2001-2005 under former U.S. President George W. Bush. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 01: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell (L), in the Oval Office of the White House December 1, 2010 in Washington, DC. According to a White House media release, Obama and Powell were expected to discuss various issues including education, and the ratifying the New START Treaty. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years This photo taken Feb. 11, 2014 shows former Secretary of State Colin Powell visiting a classroom at Educare, a high quality school for young, at-risk kids partly funded by Warren Buffett, in the Kenilworth-Parkside neighborhood of Washington. Backed by a multi-year, $28 million Education Department grant, the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative (DCPNI) vows to tackle generational poverty with a fresh approach -- if a parents level of education improves, so does a childs prospects. In Kenilworth-Parkside, helping the children get a good education is a primary focus, but it's the adults they must first engage. And many of them are skeptical. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak/AP)

Gen. Colin Powell through the years FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2014 file photo, former Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks at the State Department in Washington. The secretary of state under President George W. Bush, national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan, and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was the target of one phishing email in June 2015 at his Gmail addresss, according to data from the cybersecurity firm Secureworks. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

To honor General Colin Powell and his impact on our nation, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has joined President Biden in directing Florida to lower flags to half-staff.

Read: Colin Powell: Here are the ‘13 Rules’ Powell says he lived his life by

“I hereby direct the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the State of Florida immediately until sunset on Friday, October 22, 2021,” DeSantis stated.

Read: Colin Powell: A trailblazing legacy, blotted by Iraq war

Powell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 and again in 1993 with distinction.

Read: Colin Powell dies from COVID-19 complications

“He repeatedly broke racial barriers, blazing a trail for others to follow, and was committed throughout his life to investing in the next generation of leadership,” Biden said. “Colin Powell was a good man who I was proud to call my friend, and he will be remembered in history as one of our great Americans.”

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