Welcome Home Banner - the Gulf War, 1990-1991.
This flag is typical of the "field expedient" banners and flags made by entrepreneurs in the wake of Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991, US military operations jointly called the Gulf War. Demand for flags and patriotic decorations exceeded the supply and many businesses not normally engaged in the manufacture of flags, but with the capacity to print and sew textiles, capitalized on the demand for patriotic bunting items and created generic items like this banner.
This banner was not fabricated by a major American flag manufacturer. It was likely produced by a textile printer to help meet the extraordinary demand for patriotic decorations after the successful 1991 Gulf War. After Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the nation did not wish to repeat the indifference and spite shown returning troops after the Vietnam War, and the nation warmly greeted the returning service personnel.
Red, white and blue were naturally the colors for these decorations. This banner was made by screening the words, "WELCOME HOME," onto a piece of blue polyester fabric with an acrylic fabric ink. The words appear on one side only. Onto the blue strip, synthetic white and red fabric was sewn to create a red, white, blue, white and red horizontal banner. The upper edge of the red strip was finished with three small light-weight grommets. To prevent fraying, the edges were over-locked stitched, creating an inexpensive banner likely intended for a single usage.
Provenance: Acquired by purchase.
ZFC Collectible Flag
Sources:
Why did the American's treat the soldiers returning from the Vietnam War so poorly?, Yahoo! Answers, 10 May 2012, from: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091101080111AAThuan
Gulf War, Wikipedia, 10 Amy 2012, from; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
