Marine Maj. Samuel Leigh, 35, was from Belgrade.

Flags are flying at half-staff in Maine today in memory of a Marine killed in a midair collision earlier this month over the Pacific Ocean.

Belgrade native Marine Maj. Samuel Leigh, 35, was one nine people killed in the crash between a Marine Corp helicopter and a Coast Guard plane, which was searching for a missing boater off the coast of California.  Services for Leigh are being held today.

Leigh's family still lives in Belgrade. Leigh's father David Leigh told the Associated Press that his son joined the military when he left college in 1996. Both of his grandfathers were World War II veterans and his uncle was a pilot in Vietnam.