U.S. Army Major General Personal Flag. Gen. George V. Strong, Gen. Marshall's Chief of Intelligence, WWII, WWII

This diminutive red wool flag with two white five-pointed stars indicated the presence of a Major General in the Army of the United States of America. Adopted in the early part of 1903 they replaced an earlier system used in both the American Civil War and the Spanish American War whereby the command echelon of an officer was indicated rather than his grade. "The system employed was simple: using a plain red rectangular field, the general's rank insignia was applied in white in the center, with a single star representing a brigadier-general, two stars representing a major-general, three stars representing a lieutenant-general, and so on.

Major General George Veazey Strong (1880-1946) was a 1908 graduate of West Point. As a career army officer he served with distinction in World War I, during which he was awarded the US Army's Distinguished Service Medal for his part in the assault on St. Mihiel. After the war he served in a variety of staff and command positions, eventually attending the Command and General Staff School in preparation for his eventual assignment to the G-2 Division (Intelligence) of the General Staff and ultimately as Chief of the War Plans Division. While heading this office he was named and featured in Life Magazine, which named him one of the U.S. Army's Six Foremost Generals.

Strong used this flag (and ZFC3278) from 1942 to 1944, during his WWII tenure as the Chief of Army Intelligence. General Eisenhower described him as, "…a senior officer possessed of a keen mind, a driving energy and ruthless determination." However, despite his well-known dedication in February 1944 he left the U.S. Army, yet remained employed by the War Department until his retirement in 1945.

This flag was acquired as part of a grouping of flags and uniforms belonging to General George Strong. The companion pieces acquired are an additional Major General's flag (ZFC3276) and two flags, one auto (ZFC3279), and the other personal (ZFC3277), for a Brigadier General of the General's Staff Corp. Also acquired was his full dress uniform with tails, made by Joseph A. Wilner & Co. of Washington, D.C. The uniform jacket (ZFC3291) features velour cuffs with bullion oak leaves and Major General's stars on the sleeves, and is accompanied by the uniform's dress pants (ZFC3292), a yellow general's sash (ZFC3291), and white gloves (ZFC3294). There is also an officer's waist belt with an 1872 pattern eagle plate done by William Rowland of Philadelphia (ZFC3295). The collection is completed by a pair of cavalry officers' spurs (ZFC3296), a high grade leather "Sam Browne" belt (ZFC3297), a West Point cadet's bathrobe (ZFC3298), and a red officer's sash (ZFC3299).

Provenance:
• Flag made by U.S. Army Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot, 1930s.
• Used by General George Veazey Strong, 1942 to 1944.
• Acquired by James Mountain, Ashburnham, MA.
• James Mountain Collection, until 2009.
• Sold via Alderfer Auction, to the Zaricor Flag Collection, 2009.


ZFC Significant Flag

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