National Flag of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
The flag of The Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a single golden yellow five-point star on a red field was adopted on November 30, 1955 following the partition of Vietnam after the First Indo-China War. It became the flag of a reunified Vietnam on July 2, 1976.
The "Red Flag with the Yellow Star", designed by Nguyen Huu Tien, was first seen during the unsuccessful 1940 Cochin-China Uprising against French Colonial rule. It was very similar to other socialist inspired flags of the time, all of which used a red field inspired by the red flags flown during the Paris Commune in 1871.
The original flags had the arms of the star widened at the base and the arms slightly curved. The flag assumed its current form in 1955. The five points of the star represented the five Confucian classes of people: the intellectuals, the farmers, the artisans, the merchants, and the soldiers. The red field represents the war for independence, while golden-yellow is the traditional color of the Vietnamese people.
After the war, in political reeducation sessions, the golden star was said to represent the social classes of laborers, peasants, intellectuals, the military, and the youth. The red is said to represent proletarian blood and the successful communist revolution.
This flag was acquired in 1990s, with the provenance that it dated from 1965 to 1970, and was captured by US Army unit from a North Vietnam Army unit during Vietnam War circa 1970.
Provenance:
• Acquired by ZFC by purchase at Bay Area Militaria Show, San Jose, California, 1990s.
ZFC Important Flag
