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Flag Laws of Guam

Guåhan

Last modified: 2024-07-20 by ian macdonald
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[flag of Guam] image by Zoltan Horvath, 7 June 2024

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Flag laws

Here are flag laws from the Guam Code Annotated 2000:

§406. Coat of Arms. The official Coat of Arms of Guam shall consist of an upright, two-pointed oval scene which portrays an ancient flying proa (canoe) approaching the beach near the mouth of the Agana River, with a lone coconut palm tree in the foreground. The colors of the Coat of Arms shall be as follows: yellow, which represents the sand; brown, the tree trunk and canoe; green, the palm fronds; white, the canoe sail; grey, the distant flat-topped mountains; light blue, the sky; dark blue, the water; red, the letters GUAM emblazoned across the Coat of Arms; red, the border around the outer edge and surrounding the oval.

§407. Territorial Flag. The official territorial flag of Guam consists, on both sides, of a rectangular field of marine blue seventy-eight inches long and forty inches wide, trimmed on all sides with a border of deep red two inches in width and having in its center the Guam Coat of Arms, such Coat of Arms to be twenty-four (24) inches high and sixteen (16) inches wide. The territorial flag may be reproduced for unofficial purposes in smaller or larger sizes, but in such cases, the dimensions shall be in proportion to those stated herein.

The official territorial flag of Guam for holiday uses shall be the same design as stated herein, but shall be fifty percent (50%) larger with identical proportions as the flag described above. The holiday flag shall be displayed on official buildings and flag staffs belonging to the government of Guam on all territorial and national Holidays.

§408. Display of Guam Flag. The territorial flag of Guam shall be displayed in the open during daylight hours, or, if properly lighted, during the hours of darkness, and during such hours shall be displayed only on buildings, flag staffs or halyards. The territorial flag of Guam shall be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

When the Guam Flag is flown together with the flag of the United States on a single staff or halyard, it shall be flown below the flag of the United States. When the Guam Flag is flown or displayed together with the flag of the United States other than on a single staff or halyard, it shall be flown or displayed either below or to the left of the flag of the United States.

When the Guam Flag is flown alone at such time as by official order the flag of the United States is being flown at half mast, the Guam Flag shall also be flown at half mast.

Representatives of foreign governments are authorized to display their respective national flags from their offices, notwithstanding the position of a nearby display of the Guam Flag, or the United States Flag.

§409. Pledge of Allegiance to Guam Flag not Required. No pledge of allegiance shall be required to be given by anyone to the Guam Flag.

§1000. Holidays. (a) The holidays of Guam are:
New Year's Day;
Memorial Day, the last Monday in May;
Independence Day, July 4th;
Liberation Day, July 21st;
Labor Day, the first Monday in September;
All Souls' Day, November 2;
Veterans' Day, November 11;
Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November;
Our Lady of Camarin Day, December 8; and
Christmas, December 25th.

§1011. Liberation Day. (a) Liberation Day is a legal holiday declared in commemoration of the anniversary of the liberation of Guam from the Japanese Occupation on July 21, 1944 and the inauguration of civil government in Guam on July 21, 1950.

(b) The Governor is authorized and requested to issue annually a proclamation calling upon the people of Guam to observe Liberation Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies and festivities expressive of the public sentiment befitting the occasion.

§1025. Guam Discovery Day. (a) The first Monday of March in each year shall be known as Guam Discovery Day and is hereby made a legal holiday in the territory of Guam in commemoration of the discovery of Guam by Europeans. The Governor is authorized and requested to issue annually a proclamation calling upon the people of Guam to observe Guam Discovery Day by displaying their flag at their homes or other suitable places.

§1031. Municipal Flag. The various Municipal Planning Councils of the Territory may adopt an official municipal flag which depicts the history and culture of the respective village. The Chairmen of the Municipal Planning Councils shall notify the Compiler of Laws of the selection and description of the flag. The municipal flags may be reproduced for official purposes in smaller or larger sizes.

Phil Nelson, 25 July 2005

Color specifications

The flag law defines the flag (§ 407):
https://www.guamcourts.org/CompilerofLaws/GCA/01gca/1gc004.PDF
Its colors are described as marine blue field with deep red border. Based on this description, the proportions of the flag are 20:39.

An archived page of the Government of Guam about its emblems: http://ns.gov.gu/seal.html

There is a page about history of Guam emblem and flag with historical illustrations:
https://www.guampedia.com/guam-seal-and-flag/

This page illustrates the flag, and construction details based on law and gives color specifications based on Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012 [loc12]: https://usflags.design/guam/
Zoltan Horvath, 7 June 2024

The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012) provides recommendations for national flag designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag, including the PMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs may not be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC believed the flag to be. Guam: PMS 032 red, 281 blue, 285 blue, 355 green, 440 brown, 102 yellow and black. The vertical flag is simply the horizontal version turned 90 degrees clockwise.
Ian Sumner, 10 October 2012

Other sources for colors:

The Flag Manual - Beijing 2008 gives Pantone colors: PMS 032 (red), PMS 102 (yellow), PMS 355 (green), PMS 281 (blue), PMS 285 (blue), PMS 440 (brown), and PMS Black.

The French Navy Books illustrate the flag with construction details, but don’t give any color specification.

Vexilla Mundi gives colors in Pantone system: PMS 280C (blue), and PMS 200C (red).

Wikipedia doesn’t give any color specifications.

Flag Color Codes gives the following color values:
Red: Hex. # C62139, RGB 198-33-57, CMYK 0-90-76-0, Pantone 032, RAL 3028
Dark Blue: Hex. # 00297B, RGB 0-41-123, CMYK 100-78-0-57, Pantone 281, RAL 5002

Zoltan Horvath, 7 June 2024