Ensign from the Republic of Vietnam, 1948-1975.
Cotton, field expedient Vietnamese ensigns like this example were used when the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) was turned over to the Republic of Vietnam by the US Army and Navy in 1969. The MRF was tasked with transport, support and combat operations and played a significant role in defeating the Viet Cong during the Tet Offensive.
The Flag of the Republic of Vietnam - three red horizontal stripes on golden yellow - was simple and easy to produce and this home-made cotton attests to this. The flag was adopted in 1948 by the Republic of Vietnam who chose to revive the old flag of the 19th century Vietnamese Emperor Thà nh Thái. The Republic of Vietnam was the political entity that governed the southern 1/3 of the former French colony of Cochin China in opposition to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam declared by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi.
The three red stripes are representative of the heaven and sky trigram from the Bagua of Taoist cosmology as well as the three regions of Vietnam: north, central and southern. Small cotton flags like this would have had to have been replaced often on the MRF boats owing to the effects of a fierce tropical sun and the wear and tear of a riverine environment.
Provenance: Acquired by purchase at the Militaria show in San Jose, Ca.
ZFC Noteworthy Flag
Sources:
Vietnamese Flags, Endless Journey, 10 May 2012, from http://www.riverinesailor.com/index.html
Fulton, Major General William B., VIETNAM STUDIES -RIVERINE OPERATIONS - 1966-1969 , 10 May 2012, from: http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/riverine/index.htm
South Vietnam, Wikipedia, 7 May 2012, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Vietnam
Flag of Vietnam, Wikipedia, 7 May 2012, from; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Vietnam
Bagua, Wikipedia, 7 May 2012, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_gua
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
