U.S. Marine Corps, Brigadier General Alexander Vandegrift's Personal Flag, WWII.
This is a woolen Unites States Marine Corps Brigadier General's flag from General Alexander A. Vandergrift, one of most highly decorated USMC officers, a Medal of Honor Winner and the 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps. The flag displays the insignia of his grade, a single silver five point star on a scarlet background. He was promoted to Brigadier General on 11 April 1940 and earned the privilege of displaying this flag until his subsequent promotion to Major General on 4 March 1942.
As a brigadier he served as the Assistant to the Commandant at Marine HQ in Washington DC, until November of 1941, when he was transferred to the First Marine Division, as Assistant Division Commander, the post he held at the time that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He prepared the First Division for the war in the Pacific, and would eventually lead it at Guadalcanal, where he would be awarded the Medal of Honor.
General Vandergrift donated this flag during the war, doubtless after he had been promoted to a superior grade, as an item in a Navy Relief Fund auction. The Naval Relief Fund auctions were a source of fund raising during WWII. The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, a private non-profit charitable organization sponsored by the Department of the Navy, conducted them. The funds raised were used to help sailors and marines, both at home and abroad, by offering financial assistance. Many celebrated WWII leaders donated uniforms, insignia, flags and other personal effects to help the Relief society raise funds.
Exhibition History:
Displayed as Item #193, Navy Relief Fund Auction, 1942-1945.
Provenance:
Made for U.S. Marine Corps, circa. 1932-1938.
Used by Brigadier Alexander Vandergrift, 1940-1942.
Offered by Gen Vandergrift at Navy Relief Fund Auction, 1942-1945.
Sold via Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, to Zaricor Flag Collection, 2010.
ZFC Significant Flag
Sources:
Alexander Archer Vandegrift, Wikipedia, 18 October 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vandegrift
General Alexander A. Vandegrift, USMC (1887-1973), US Naval History Center, 18 October 2011, from: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-v/aa-vandg.htm
Alexander Vandegrift, AbsoluteAstronomy.com, 18 October 2011, from: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Alexander_Vandegrift
About the Society, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, 18 October 2011, from: http://nmcrs.org/
Images:
Zaricor Flag Collection
Heritage Auctions Inc., Dallas, Texas
