50 Star U.S. Flag MAAG in Kontum Province, Vietnam 1960. Very early use of 50 star flag in the field.
In 1950 President Dwight sent the Military Advisory Assistance Group (MAAG) to Indochina to aid the French stationed in their colony of Vietnam. After the French withdrawal in 1954 the Unites States was left to continue the aid to the republic established in the southern half of the former colony. The MAAG advisers were not to engage in combat except to defend themselves. While technically serving under the flag of South Vietnam, many of the advisors took private purchase flags with them for unofficial display.

Previously this flag was thought to be synthetic. Note the faded diagonal striations caused by hanging motionless under a fierce tropical sun. In 1961 President John Kennedy replaced the MAAG with the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.

Exhibition History:
Second Presidio Exhibit, 2003 - Gallery VI
(LV101/ZFC0748)
50-Star United States Flag

Publication History:
Madaus, Howard M., Dr, Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict. Santa Cruz: VZ Publications, 2006, p. 136.

Provenance: Acquired from the family of an African-American advisor who was "in country" in 1960. As such, it would be one of the earliest 50 star U.S. flags to see service in Vietnam.

ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed

Sources:


Madaus, Howard M.- Whitney Smith, The American Flag: Two Centuries of Concord and Conflict, VZ Publications, Santa Cruz, 2006.

Military Assistance Advisory Group, Wikipedia, 12 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Assistance_Advisory_Group

Kon Tum province, Wikipedia, 12 November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kon_Tum_province

Hooch, Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War, D-J, 12 November 2011, from: http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Resources/Glossary/Sixties_Term_Gloss_D_J.html

Martz , Colonel John D., Jr.The Story Behind A New Star for the Flag, US Army Quartermaster Foundation, 12 November 2011, from: http://www.qmfound.com/us_flag_49th_and_50th_star.htm

United States of America, Flags of the World, 12 November 2011, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us.html

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection