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Navy - Ship Flags-3 (U.S.)

Surface Ships

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US Navy Battle Flags: A Visual Guide - 47 US Navy battle flags shown and explained.

USS Nimitz (CVN-68)

A photo by Matthew Fern on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/specmode/3326046250/ shows the ship flag of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68). It is similar to that of the USS Theodore Roosevelt - a light/medium blue flag with the ship's seal in the centre.
Jonathan Dixon, 23 September 2010

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)

image by Joe McMillan, 3 October 2000

On the quarterdeck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt is a display of a number of flags, including the U.S. national color, the Navy flag, the New York state flag (representing Theodore Roosevelt's tenure as governor of New York), and this light blue flag with the ship seal on the center. In addition, two large flags were hanging side by side on the bulkhead on the hangar deck, the national ensign and another ship's flag, also light blue but with a script monogram of the initials "TR" on the center in black, with the name and motto of the ship above and below.
Joe McMillan, 3 October 2000

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)

image located by William Garrison, 9 January 2020

The U.S. aircraft carrier, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), has its own battle flag (and possibly the only U.S. warship to have such). It is a variation of the guidons carried by the companies of the 129th Field Artillery Regiment of the 35th Infantry Division, such as Battery D -- the battery under the command of then Army Capt. Harry Truman during World War I. Truman later became President in April 1945. It consists of: "75" -- referring to the carrier's identification number; "crossed cannons" on a scarlet background; "129 D" -- noting Truman's artillery unit; and in white lettering the phrase: "Give 'em Hell" (which a Truman supporter had shouted at him during the 1948 presidential campaign).

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Harry_S._Truman

USS Carl M. Levin (DDG-120)

image located by William Garrison, 5 September 2023

A new U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS Carl M. Levin (DDG 120), showed off a pirate-inspired flag on its mast when it docked in Pearl Harbor, HI on 7 August 2023. The flag features the images of a pirate ship, a phoenix (a bird) and a kraken (a large, terrifying octopus-like sea creature of yore capable of seizing and sinking ships with their crews by pulling them down to drown in the ocean abyss of 'Davy Jones's Locker'). The mythical phoenix is an immortal bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise reborn again.

The unique flag was designed by Damage Controlman 3rd Class Hector Mendoza. It depicts a sea monster [kraken] splitting a pirate ship in half while a phoenix rises over the debris. Mendoza explained that his goal was to design a "badass" flag for the ship. While a kraken splintering a pirate ship into pieces might seem a mildly foreboding emblem for a new warship, Dudaryk explained that the phoenix, as the ship's mascot, "rises out of the destruction, symbolizing how the crew will persevere through any hardships or challenges."

The ship's namesake is represented in an ivory gavel in the lower left corner [of the flag] to mark Levin's 36 years of service in the U.S. Senate, while the Michigan-state flag [state seal] appears in the lower right-hand corner as a tribute to the late senator's home state, Dudaryk said. In the photo, the top line, which is partially hidden in a fold in the flag, reads: "USS CARL M. LEVIN", and to the left of the phoenix is "DDG" and to its right "120", which represents the destroyer's naval identification: "DDG 120". A rope borders the flag along with intertwined knots at the corners, including a 1700s-style anchor at the upper-right corner. Carl M. Levin was a U.S. senator from the state of Michigan from 1979 to 2015.

William Garrison, 5 September 2023

U.S.S. New Jersey WETSU

image located by William Garrison, 2 April 2024

A yellow (Lithuanian yellow?) field "battle flag" of the WWII-era "U.S.S. New Jersey" battleship with its official, red-lettered slogan of "Firepower For Freedom" and its unofficial navy-blue-lettered "WETSU" slogan ("We Eat This Stuff Up" or during difficult times may controversially mean: "We Eat This Sh*t Up"). Also on this flag is a comical drawing (touting its long "big guns") of the battleship when looking at it "head on" towards its bow and below its name of "USS NEW JERSEY" is its identification number: "BB 62". The last time this flag was flown was when the ship was decommissioned back in Feb. 1991, but unfurled again in late March 2024 when this floating museum traveled from Camden, NJ down the Delaware River to the "Philadelphia Navy Yard" for a 60-day period of dry-dock maintenance. A very informative article regarding this flag is posted at the flag source: https://www.military.com

William Garrison, 2 April 2024

USS John Basilone battle flag (DDG 112)

image located by William Garrison, 6 November 2024

Source: https://www.guns.com

The red-field "Battle Flag" [c. late Oct. 2024] for the new guided-missile destroyer: U.S.S. John Basilone (DDG 112). The ship's namesake, Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, received the U.S. Medal of Honor for heroism on Guadalcanal in October 1942 during World War II, where he was attached to the 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division. Later, he went back to combat with another Marine unit only to perish on 19 Feb. 1945 at age 28 on Iwo Jima, where he single-handedly destroyed a Japanese blockhouse, and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. He was the only enlisted Marine to receive both of these decorations in WWII. On this flag, in the center is his unit's blue patch - a pair of crossed M1917 machine-guns, which are surrounded by stars arranged in the shape of a star-studded "Southern Cross" constellation, all upon the Blue Diamond shoulder patch of the 1st Marine Division. As noted by the Navy, "These words characterize the life and service of Gunnery Sergeant Basilone, honor his legacy and charge future generations of Selfless Warriors to sharpen their spears, take a stand, and move forward." At the top of the flag in blue lettering is "Selfless Warriors." The blue diamond itself is transposed against a field of crimson and flanked by two golden palm branches -- a reference to "the vegetation of Guadalcanal and reference Basilone's heroic service in defense of Henderson Field" on Guadalcanal island, per the Navy - and the words "Take a Stand" and "Move Forward" in honor of Basilone's life and service. The Southern Cross is an asterism (a pattern of stars) made up of the most visible stars in the constellation Crux. The iconic group of stars is visible mainly from the Southern Hemisphere and can be seen from Guadalcanal. The Southern Cross is also featured in the flags of several Southern Hemisphere countries. Around all four sides of this red-field flag there is a yellow-red-white-blue "frame" which represent the colors in the WWII U.S. "Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal" and its ribbon (which were award to military personnel in the Guadalcanal and other Pacific battles)
(Photo: General Dynamics) Info: https://www.military.com and https://www.guns.com.
William Garrison, 6 November 2024