Flags during wartime

NOTICING ALL the flags at half mast for the 12 soldiers and the civilian killed in the recent Fort Hood tragedy made me wonder why the flags aren’t always at half mast in time of war. I recognize the extreme pain and suffering that the deaths of those killed at Fort Hood have caused, but doesn’t every soldier’s death in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere cause pain and suffering, and shouldn’t we show respect and mourn for every loss of life in service to our country? I think so. Flags should stay at half mast until we are no longer at war, as a show of respect to the dead and as a reminder that soldiers are dying in other countries, too.