SALEM TOWNSHIP -- In remembrance and honor of Sgt. Richard K. Parker, Governor John E. Baldacci has ordered that the United States flag and all State of Maine flags be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Tuesday, June 26.

Parker's funeral services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at his alma mater, Mount Abram High School, located on Route 142 in Salem Township north of Strong. Baldacci will attend, according to his office.

Parker, of Phillips, was serving as a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 152nd Field Artillery Regiment, Maine Army National Guard out of Waterville when he was wounded in action June 13 in Iraq.

Visiting hours will be on Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school. Following the funeral, burial with full military honors will be at Mile Square Hill Cemetery in Avon.

A reception, put on by the family, the community and members of Parker's unit, is planned at the Phillips Middle School on Route 4.

Major Michael Backus, spokesman for the Maine Army National Guard, said on Friday that plans for the funeral were still being finalized and coordinated with the funeral home. Dan and Scott Adams' Cremation and Funeral Services, in Skowhegan, is handling the arrangements, Scott Adams, a Phillips resident, confirmed Friday.

Backus said assisting at the funeral will be the Patriot Guard Riders, a national organization of motorcycle riders who attend funeral services of American servicemen and women as invited guests of the family. A group of Maine riders, many of them veterans, are expected on Tuesday.

"They are there to offer assistance and help with the funeral service in any way they can," Backus said.

The group's mission is also to shield mourners from interruptions created by a protest, he said.

Backus said he did not know when Parker's body would be arriving in Maine from Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del., where the Department of Defense's Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs is located.

According to the Defense Department's Web site, Parker died June 14 in Scania, Iraq from wounds suffered on June 13 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

A scholarship fund has been set up for anyone wishing to make a donation in Parker's memory. Gifts can be sent to the Sgt. Richard K. Parker Scholarship Fund, c/o Judy McCurdy, Guidance Office, Mt. Abram High School, 1513 Salem Rd., Salem, ME 04983.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com