Vietnam People's Liberation Army Color.

Vietnam People's Liberation Army Color, Captured by Co. B, 187th RCT, 101st Airborne.
This is a Vietnamese Peoples Army color, depicting the stylized arms of North Vietnam. It is inscribed in Vietnamese and translates roughly as "The Vietnam Peoples Army, Spring Offensive Tet 1968, Battalion 6, First in the Liberation of Saigon" This flag was made in anticipation of a successful "liberation" of Saigon and was taken by counter forces. The flag, from the Tet offensive, was kept as a trophy by Corporal William Street, who was later awarded the Silver Star and an Oak Leaf Cluster for his service in Vietnam; presumably, one of those actions involved this flag. Street served with the Wandering Warriors, RAKKASANS, CO.B, 3rd of the 3rd, 187th Hq & Hq Lrrps Recon, 101st Airborne from November 1967 to October of 1968.

During WWII, returning U.S. soldiers from both the European and Pacific theaters of war sought both German and Japanese flags, which coincidentally were plentiful as a result of both political and cultural practices. The capture of flags as war trophies continued to a lesser extent during the Korean Conflict, was revived again during the Vietnam War, and again most recently in the conflicts in the Middle East.

Provenance: This flag was previously the property of former U.S. army Corporal William R. Street, and was acquired from him.

ZFC Significant Flag

Sources:

---

War Trophy, Wikipedia, 15 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_trophy

McCarthy, Spc. Kara, SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (Army News Service, April 7, 2000), Public Affairs and Media, 15 November 2011, from:
http://incolor.inebraska.com/iceman/public.htm

Hayes, Dale H., LTC, General Orders #6002, Department of the Army, 28 May 1969, Zaricor Flag Collection Archives

Vietnam People's Army, Wikipedia, 15 November 2011, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_People%27s_Army

Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Flags of the World, 15 November 2011, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/vn.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	33.25
Length of Fly	39.5

Stars
Size of Stars	11

Frame
Is it framed?	no

Stars
Number of Stars	1
How are the stars embeded?	Sewn
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes

Stripes
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Crest/Emblem
Description of Crest/Emblem	Arms of (North ) Viet Nam

Nationality
Nation Represented	Vietnam

Fabric
Fabric	Cotton

Stitching
Stitching	Machine

Attachment
Method of Attachment	Sleeve

Applica
Applique Sides	Single Faced = Mirror Image Reverse

Documentation
Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Drawings	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Research Documents
Public Copy & Signs	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition
Condition	Good
Damage	used
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1968