HomeVexiBits 2022

Vexibits of the Month 2022

This page promotes the enjoyment of flags and the interesting stories behind them. Other flags will have no stories and will have to speak for themselves. Each month we feature an unusual flag or two, how they came to be, and their histories. Please enjoy these flags and the stories as we do...

Send Vexibits suggestions to the creator, Pete Loeser, Website Editor—webeditor@nava.org

Vexibits for December 2022 - The Changing Faces of Flags

It has been interesting to observe a gradual move in what we can call the philosophy of flag design over the last couple of decades from “traditional" flag design to a more modern abstract approach.

Flag of France

use of vertical stripes

For generations traditional flags have used stripes—both horizontal and vertical—in their fields (backgrounds) usually featuring their national or land colors (to distinguish and represent their country or institution). Placing a canton in the upper left-hand corner of the obverse or front side of a flag and putting a distinct design in it that differed from the background or field of a flag was also commonly used.

Governmental institutions or departments tended to use their arms, emblem, or shield centered on a plain background or field. For example, American governmental flags usually have a blue field.

Stars and Stripes

use of canton & horizonal stripes

Typical Governmental Flag Design

This badge- or seal-on-a-bedsheet design remains common but has a serious flaw. The flags tend to be hard to distinguish from all the others, especially when displayed indoors on a pole or seen from a distance. The charges also tend to be of confusing design, and many times will contain text to help identify whose shield it represents. Text itself is hard to read from a distance and presents difficulties when seen, especially from the reverse side of light and semi-transparent materials. And perhaps most important, this design usually uses a symbol of the government, rather than of the entire people represented.

The original need of a flag to be distinguishable and stand out at a distance was mainly driven by military necessity. At sea ships needed to be able to identify themselves from a distance, and on land armies face the same necessity. Quite frankly they needed to know who to shoot at and who not to.

This said, distinguishing one flag from another has led to many changes in the theory of flag design and this modern trend to a more abstract-looking flag has been one of the results. Also, in recent years one has seen an increased interest in flag designs, with contests at both state and local level resulting in new designs.

Ted Kaye’s small pamphlet Good Flag, Bad Flag has become one of the driving forces behind this phenomena and interest in flag design. It has had a profound and sometimes controversial effect on the traditional concepts of flag design.

Nowhere has this become more apparent than in the state of Utah. The state has moved from a rigidly traditional flag design approach to embrace the more abstract design look of its flags.

One must remember this is in a state where just a few years ago Utah vexillologist John Hartvigsen led a determined and ultimately successful campaign to correct the design of the Utah state flag (see essay: "Early Variants of the Utah State Flag"), by removing a long-standing error and returning the flag to the original “official”/adopted design. The error had become a “suppositious” change that was repeated so often it became accepted as correct. (See essay: What are Suppositious Flags and Suppositious Flag Facts?)

Utah State Flag 1911

Corrected 2011

Salt Lake City Flag

In use since 2020

As a result, in 2011 a Utah State resolution was passed admonishing flag manufacturers to make the Utah State flag in accordance with the original official design.

In 2020 the flag of Salt Lake City was “modernized,” (as shown here) and this year (2022) a Utah State Flag Commission has selected a new design for the state flag after reviewing over 5,700 design submissions and getting feedback from more than 44,000 Utahns.

(Nava members John Hartvigsen and Ted Kaye helped with both these efforts)

Proposed Utah Flag 2022

awaiting legislative approval

Assuming the new flag is adopted by the legislature (likely in January), the "old" flag will be used as the official flag of the governor’s office.

Vexibits for November 2022 - The Use of Flags and the Mid-Term Elections

It's November and the major American political parties are competing for control of the U.S. Congress. The mid-term elections take place on November 8th and naturally there is a great deal of flag-waving. Nearly identical flags seem to be popular with both main parties.

The mid-terms take place halfway through an American president's four-year term. Hundreds of congressional seats are up for election. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and about a third of the Senate seats will be decided. As usual, both major political parties — Democrats and Republicans — are using flags to garner voter support.

These first four flag designs show remarkable similarity in color and design. The flags use the national colors of red, white, and blue, plus stars that evoke the national flag. They often feature the long-time symbols of the parties: the donkey for Democrats and the elephant for Republicans.

Traditionally blue has been the color of the Democrats and red is the color of the Republicans. The flag on the left encourages Americans to vote blue. The flag on the right encourages Americans to vote red.

United States color usage by party actually differs from the tradition in most other nations, where red is typically associated with the political left and blue is associated with the right. The color convention in the U.S. actually only dates back to the 2000 U.S. presidential election — and the lengthy battle to determine the winner — when prominent television news sources published maps denoting Republicans as red and Democrats as blue.

Usually the American electorate is less interested in the mid-terms and more voters stay home, so both sides feel it is important to get as many of their voters as possible to the polls. However, some flags simply encourage them to do so without favoring either of the majority parties.

Other flags appeal to certain voting blocs in American society. Some flags, such as the on the left, urge woman to vote. The one on the right does the same thing for the LGBTQ community.

The message is clear on all these flags, get out and vote...

Vexibits for September/October 2022 - Celebrate World Vexillology Day, October 1

Flag-studies organizations and individual vexos all over the world will advance public knowledge of flags with displays and events on or around October 1. Established in 2016 by Scott Mainwaring, Vexi-Day honors the founding of the Flag Research Center in 1962.

Flags of the World 2018 Vexillologist of the Year, Clay Moss, first provided a flag design for a World Vexillology Day flag in 2019. Clay, a long-time NAVA member, is well-known for his flag illustrations and scholarship, and he designs flags as a hobby. His VexiDay design featured a globe made of flags centered above a white "V" chevron for vexillology, similar to those displayed on many vexillological organization flags, including our NAVA flag. The field of the World Vexillology Day flag is the light blue used on many of the flags of the United Nations and the flag of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations.

How do YOU plan to celebrate World Vexillology Day?

Vexibits for August 2022 - Hostages & Wrongful Detainees Flag

One flag coming out of the Vietnam War Era and still in use is the MIA/POW Flag (Missing in Action, Prisoner of War) reminding people that there were still American soldiers missing in action and possibly being held as prisoner by the Vietnamese government. The flag stated, "You are not forgotten."
Interesting enough, in 1990, Congress recognized and designated the MIA/POW flag as a symbol of our Nation's concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation. This made it a nationally recognized organizational flag which was entitled to be flown above all State flags.

It should be noted here that Jim Ferrigan, the Protocol Officer of NAVA, emphasizes that the POW/MIA flag only enjoys its bump in protocol on six designated days a year, otherwise it retains its status as the "organizational flag" of the National League of Families POW/MIA and should be displayed accordingly, beneath any state flag.

With that said, there is now a move to get another flag placed in the same special category. The relatives of the 67 Americans being held captive abroad are desperate to raise public awareness of their loved ones’ plight. One simple, yet powerful way to further galvanize the public and our leaders into action would be such an officially recognized flag.

They hope the passage of the Robert A. Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage Taking Accountability Act will accomplish it. With an Act of Congress, this new banner could be flown under the Stars and Stripes on government buildings — from post offices throughout the country to embassies around the world. The flag could spread awareness and serve as a national promise to the families of hostages and wrongfully detained Americans that the United States is doing everything in its power to get them back. The Bill (S.712) enjoys the support of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of the end-of-year funding legislation approved by the Senate.

Vexibits for July 2022 - United States Space Command

When the United States Space Force (USSF) was announced many people thought it wasn't real. After a generation of Star Trek and Star Wars it seemed more like a Hollywood production, but it was not and is very real as one of the eight uniformed United States military branches.

US Army Air Corps Flag c1945

The Space Force traces its roots back to the first Army Air Force in 1945 and the Cold War. The Space Force later became part of the newly established United States Air Force in 1982 when it was split off from the U.S. Army command structure. Today the United States Space Force is the newest (and smallest) U.S. armed service and is the first independent space force in the world.

The Space Force is still overseen by the secretary of the Air Force, a civilian political appointee who reports to the secretary of defense, and is appointed by the president with Senate confirmation, but it is an independent branch in its own right. Naturally it has an official flag of its own.
The President created the Space Force as an independant branch in December of 2019 to conduct space operations, protect the interests of the United States in space, and deter aggression from and into space. The Space Force Flag is the first new service flag to be released in 70+ years.

The flag design features the official Space Force seal centered on a black background. The words “United States Space Force” and the Roman numerals MMXIX, for the year 2019, appear in white lettering beneath the seal. Dark blue and white colors are used throughout to represent the vastness of outer space.

Seal_of_the_United_States_Space_Force.svg.png

US Space Force Seal

There are over 70 spacecraft and programs such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), Space Fence, military satellite communications, the X-37B spaceplanes, U.S. missile warning systems, U.S. space surveillance network, and the Satellite Control Network. They have been conducting combat support operations since the Vietnam War and have continued to provide satellite communications, weather, and navigation support for all US military deployments.

Their support for the U.S.-led coalition during the Gulf War proved so critical that many have referred to it as the first "space war." It appears that the US Space Force is indeed defending our "Final Frontier."

Chief of Space Operations Ceremonial Command Flag

The military head of the Space Force is the Chief of Space Operations (CSO) who is nominally the most senior Space Force officer, commands the Space Force units, and serves as one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The position is held by a general in the United States Space Force, and he acts as a military adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force for Space Force operations.

The Chief of Space Operations is assisted in his/her duties by a Vice Chief of Space Operations (VCSO). The VCSO is second-in-command, a member of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC), and also operates with the full authority of the Chief of Space Operations during the CSO’s absence.

Vice Chief of Space Operations

Command Flag

Vexibits for June 2022 - Every Child Matters

With the discovery in British Columbia of the unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, a nation-wide debate began on whether the site and other unmarked graves at residential schools later discovered should be dug up or left alone. Some see the exhumation as a process that could help lay victims properly to rest, while others want them left undisturbed and no consensus has emerged among survivor families about what should be done.
Many have demanded that authorities should "conduct full-fledged investigations into the circumstances and responsibilities surrounding these deaths, including forensic examinations of the remains found, and to proceed to the identification and registration of the missing children."

Their frustration on the lack of progress has resulted in the "Every Child Matters" movement and some flag-waving, as well as demonstrations about the lack of progress. As of now no remains have been excavated.

These are some of the "Every Child Matters" flags manufactured for folks wishing to express their views and give support.

There are many orange horizonal, vertical, and garden flags being sold. These are only a sampling.

Why Are All These Flags Orange?

September 30 now marks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, but it is also called Orange Shirt Day. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots day that honors the children who survived residential schools and remembers those who did not. The story is a Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation girl named Phyllis Webstad on her first day of school arrived dressed in a new orange shirt, which school officials took from her. This act has become a symbol of the stripping away of the culture, freedom and self-esteem of the Indigenous children over generations. Now all Canadians to are encouraged to wear orange to raise awareness of the very tragic legacy of residential schools, and to honor the thousands of Survivors.

Vexibits for May 2022 - The Residential School Survivors

The Kamloops Indian Residential School, located in Kamloops, British Columbia, was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system and the largest residential school in Canada in the 1950s. Established in 1890, it closed in 1978. It was located in the lands of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, but only the main school building still remains. In the late 1990s a child's tooth was found nearby and in the early 2000s a human rib of a child was found. In 2021, an anthropologist at the University of the Fraser Valley named Sarah Beaulieu surveyed the area with ground-penetrating radar and discovered the presence of about 200 unmarked graves. This all began the Kamloops Indian Residential School Survivors Movement, and along with it a whole new collection of Canadian Protest flags. As of January 2022, no actual remains had been excavated.

Residential School Survivors’ Flag (1:2 ratio)

The Survivors’ Flag is an expression of remembrance, meant to honor residential school survivors and all the lives and communities impacted by the residential school system in Canada. Each element depicted on the flag was carefully selected by Survivors from across Canada, who were consulted in the flag’s creation.

This flag is being produced in both the traditional Canadian ratio of 1:2 and the more modern accepted ratio of 2:3

Residential School Survivors’ Flag (2:3 ratio)

In response to the discovery, the Government of Ontario pledged $10 million to fund a search for unmarked graves at Ontario residential schools. Many Canada Day festivities in 2021 were either cancelled or modified to promote reconciliation, out of respect for the discovery. Partly because of the issues surrounding abuse in residential schools the Canadian Federal government in 2008 established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, whose purpose was documenting the history and lasting impact of the Canadian Indian residential school system on Indigenous students and their families. This is the flag of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission whose work is ongoing.

Indigenous Peoples Flag

The discovery of the Kamloops Indian Residential School burials have accelerated the already far-reaching changes taking place in the social awareness of Canadian people. Flags were produced, such as the one on the left, indicating a desire to recognize the contributions of Canada's Indigenous people, and the one on right, demonstrating how the City of Montreal is striving for inclusion and recognition of Indigenous contributions to their history on their new flag design.

City of Montreal Flag

The City of Montreal unveiled a new flag and coat of arms in September of 2017, marking the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It adds a gold white pine in the center of the design representing the importance of the native indigenous population, joining the fleur-de-lis for the French, the rose for the English, the thistle for the Scots, and the clover for the Irish.

Vexibits for April 2022 - Scottish-American Heritage Month

In April Scottish-American Heritage Month highlights Scots heritage and remembers the Scots-Americans who have had an impact on U.S. society. As early immigrants to the American colonies, Scots have made an indelible mark on American culture as inventors, artists, politicians, and much more.

With such an impressive list of contributions to American culture, Scottish-Americans have a lot to celebrate. To help them do this flag manufacturers and enthusiasts have attempted to provide flag designs that combine both the Stars and Stripes of the United States with the Saint Andrews Cross of Scotland with mixed results (pun intended).

Royal Lion Rampant Flag

Scottish Americans trace their lineage back to the Scottish Highlands. Scots and Scots-Irish were among the first Europeans to settle in North America. They brought their culture, industriousness, and ability to overcome hardships with them. An estimated 20-25 million Americans claim Scottish descent today.

The Royal Lion Rampant Flag also makes a nice flag to fly in April. Did you know that among the presidents who have led the United States, almost half of them claim Scottish heritage? With this in mind, what better reason to raise a glass of scotch? Slàinte!

Vexibits for March 2022 - Flags of Ukraine

Once again, a small but proud independent nation faces the onslaught of an aggressive totalitarian neighbor and fights for freedom to determine its own destiny. In a very short time, the Ukrainian flag has become widely known and recognized throughout the world. Its simple design - a horizontal bi-bar of blue over yellow - evokes the Ukrainian landscape: sky over wheat fields. NAVA's "Good" Flag, "Bad" Flag holds it up as a good example of "meaningful symbolism." Members may join the NAVA forum on the Ukrainian flag here.

The Ukraine’s national anthem Shche ne Vmerla Ukrainyina (Ukraine is Not Dead Yet) has been played at sporting events, concerts and other gatherings around the world. It is based on a poem written by Pavlo Chubynskyi in 1862.

Ukraine Armed Defense

Ukrainian Air Defense Flag

Ukrainian Air Force

Ukrainian Navy Ensign

Ukraine President

The government of Ukraine utilizes a dual executive system in which the roles of the head of state and head of government are separate. A prime minister serves as the head of government. Denys Shmyhal, who took office in 2020, is Prime Minister. The president of Ukraine is not the nation's head of government, but in charge of foreign affairs and the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He also heads the National Security and Defense Council, which advises him and co-ordinates and controls executive power in the sphere of national security and defense.

Ukraine Prime Minister

According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the president is the "guarantor of the state's sovereignty, territorial indivisibility, the observance of the Constitution of Ukraine and human and citizens' rights and freedoms." The current president is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has served in this office since 2019.

Vexibits for February 2022 - Some Real Flags for Valentine's Day

Each year, Valentine's Day (or Saint Valentine's Day, the Feast of Saint Valentine, etc.) is celebrated in many regions of the world, usually on February 14th. What began as a rather grim feast day recognizing a Christian martyr's death, has somehow become a pleasant celebration of love and romance. Today it also has a significant economic and commercial impact, with gifts, cards, and decorations of hearts and flowers to be exchanged. Not to be outdone, we felt that the vexillological community should step forward to do our part by suggesting some existing real flags that can be repurposed and displayed for Valentine's Day.

Gontenschwil Commune

(Aargau Canton, Switzerland)

Scherz Commune

(Aargau Canton, Switzerland)

Villiers Commune

(Neuchâtel Canton, Switzerland)

These three traditional square flags for communes located in the picturesque mountain valleys of Switzerland offer a grand choice for celebrating Valentine's Day.

The Interfrisian Flag, Netherlands

Our next suggestions would be these two flags from the Netherlands. These flags use red stylized water lily leaves called pompeblêden which look very much like red hearts, especially from a distance. The Frisia flag was proposed in 2006 by a separatist group called the Groep fan Auwerk and called the "Interfrisian Flag". The group supports the unification of Frisia as an independent country.

Friesland, Netherlands

The Interfrisian Flag is obviously inspired by the Nordic Cross flag, with the four "heartlike leaves" representing the Frisian regions of North, South, West, and East. The second flag is the official flag of the Netherlands province of Friesland. Both flags give out a Valentine's Day vibe.

Liptál, Czech Republic

Liptál is a small village of 1,500 dating to 1361 and located in the Vsetín District of the Czech Republic, 12 miles east of the city of Zlín and 166 miles east of Prague. Its banner of arms gives a very Valentine feeling to the flag that features both heart and flowers.

Creve Coeur, Missouri

The City of Creve Coeur is a part of Greater St. Louis (Missouri) in the United States. Its flag with its combination of the fleur-de-lys and a broken heart offers another interesting Valentine look. It was the headquarters of Monsanto until 2018 when the company was purchased by Bayer, perhaps explaining the broken heart in the design.

These two flags obviously invoke the Valentine theme. The first is a commercial flag being sold as the Heart Flag and doesn't represent any particular location. The second is another commercial offering but does represent a particular general location, that of the nation of Canada.

Not pictured here is a similar offering of a stars and stripes with the blue canton with its field of white stars replaced by a white canton with a large red heart placed on it.

Vexibits for January 2022 - One Planet, One Chance

The Ecology symbol was created by Ron Cobb in 1969. The symbol is created by taking the letters "e" and "o", from the words "environment" and "organism". Look magazine incorporated the symbol into an image of a flag in its April 21, 1970 issue. The flag was patterned after the U.S. flag with thirteen stripes alternating green and white with the green standing for unspoiled land and the white for clean air.

This variant of the American Ecology Movement Flag was first made by the San Francisco based Paramount Flag Company in 1967. This flag was based on the Stars and Stripes, but used dark green instead of blue and light green instead of red. The colors were said to represent "pure air and green land" and environmental action.

This type of flag has seen limited use at American Ecology Conferences, meetings and protests since the 1970s.

The recycling symbol was designed by Gary Anderson in 1970. A 23-year-old college student, Gary entered a design contest to raise public awareness around environmental issues. This winning entry is now a universal symbol for recycling.
The second flag with a plant growing within a stylized light bulb says it all: "Go Green" and "Save the Planet".

The idea of saving and recycling our resources is a simple concept but hard to accomplish. But the final chapter in this story is also simple. It's "One Planet, One Chance". Either we do or we don't.