"Enjoy Baghdad" Hooch Flag from A Co. 4-1 Brigade Special Troops Battalion.
"Enjoy Baghdad" Hooch Flag from A Co. 4-1 Brigade Special Troops Battalion.
This is an unofficial polyester "hooch" flag which spoofs the traditional Coca-Cola wave logo, a ubiquitous American cultural symbol. It was brought home by troops returning from duty in Baghdad, Iraq.
The flag is a "hooch flag," normally displayed in GI living quarters and common areas to boost morale and unit pride. The flag is inscribed with the date of July 2008, by soldiers from A Co. 4-1 BSTB (A Company, 4-1, the 4th Brigade's Special Troops Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division).
4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Infantry Division nicknamed the "Wolverines" were part of the U.S. forces deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the operational designation for the Iraq War, where one of assignments for soldiers of the 4th BSTB was to provide security for contractors.
The flag is a spoof flag, which parodies the popular "Enjoy Coca Cola" flags, made popular by the Coca Cola Corporation. It has been autographed by many of the soldiers from the 1st Platoon of A Company, it is a common occurrence for American servicemen to sign both captured enemy as well as hooch flags as mementos of service.
Provenance:
- Purchased directly from returned Iraq veteran Jason Cutter by the Zaricor Flag Collection in 2009.
ZFC Noteworthy Flag
Sources:
HOOCH FLAG, Dictionary of Vexillology, Flags of the World, 21 May 2012, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/vxt-dv-h.html#hooch-flag
Iraq War, Wikipedia, 21 May 2012, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War
4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Infantry Division & Fort Riley, U.S. Army, 21 May 2012, from: http://www.1id.army.mil/UnitPage.aspx?unit=4bct_BSTB
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
