History of the flag of The Republic of Vietnam & The Free Vietnamese
Introduction
Like the Stars and Stripes, the flag of the Republic of Vietnam is laden with symbolism and historical meaning, which makes Vietnamese American feel a great emotional bond with its "colors".
Visit any free Vietnamese Community around the world, and one is likely to see a flag displaying "three horizontal red stripes on a golden yellow background" (1) fluttering proudly against the blue sky. Ask your friend, neighbor, student, or client, and she or he will tell you that those are the 'color" of Free Vietnam. It is the flag under which hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Americans have fought shoulder to shoulder and died, defending freedom against an internationally inspired and communist-led aggressive war against the Republic of Vietnam. That the war ended in 1975 in the subjugation of South Vietnam in no way reflects negatively on the symbolism of those "color". In fact, the very survival of that flag is the survival of the idea of freedom, which remains the ideal of all free men on earth.
Symbolism
The Vietnamese flag has a yellow background and three horizontal red stripes along its entire length. The "golden yellow" has been the traditional color of Vietnam for over two thousand years. It is also the color of earth, as understood in universal scheme of five elements in Oriental cosmology. The three stripes represent three regions of Vietnam: North, Central, and South Vietnam as united in a national community. The vibrant red color of the stripes is the color of blood flowing through one's veins-symbolic of Vietnam's unflagging struggle for independence throughout its recorded history.
Historical Identity
As in the case of the Stars and Stripes, the Vietnamese flag bonds Vietnamese American with their historical past: the identity of the "Ngọn Cờ Vàng" (Yellow Flag) has enabled the Vietnamese to survive as a nation even after a millennium of Chinese and French domination. Thus, the "golden yellow" flag came to be irrevocably associated with the Vietnamese, their national territory, and their history.
The flag championed by free Vietnamese everywhere was flown for the first time at a ceremony marking the official recognition by France of Vietnamese unity and independence. It is a new version of a similar flag ("Cờ Quẻ Ly") first flown in March 1945 when Vietnam under Emperor Bao Dai reclaimed its independence from France. The three-redstriped yellow flag continued to be the official flag of the Republic of Vietnam, which was recognized by the United Nations from 1950 to April 1975 (2).
A Choice of Hope and Love of freedom
To Vietnamese Americans, the Vietnamese Communist flag is a reminder of death. It is a blood-reeking flag under which some three and a half million Vietnamese lives have been sacrificed for the war-mongering goals of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) (3). 50,000 landowners were lynched to death or summarily executed by Vietnamese communists before the 1954 Geneva Agreement. Some 7,6000 civilians were shot and buried alive during the 1968 Tet Offensive at Hue’s City (4). 50,000 religious leaders and political prisoners have been executed in so call "re-education" camps since 1975. Hundreds of thousands Vietnamese who was perished at the open sea and jungle when they on the way to seek the freedom.
Most Vietnamese Americans, having fled persecution and reprisals, find the display of the "yellow star on red background" flag insulting, offensive, and culturally insensitive. It is like flying the swastika flag of Nazi Germany in the presence of Jewish-Americans.
The choice of the Vietnamese flag affects Vietnamese and Americans alike. 58,169 Americans laid down their lives in the Vietnam War for a noble cause - the cause of freedom and democracy. More than 3 millions military personnel who served in South Vietnam or in direct support from Thailand, Guam, Okinawa or the waters off shore between 1962 and 1975 still proudly wear the Republic of Vietnam Defense Commemorative Medal (5) with the three red stripes on yellow background on their chest (6). Witness the "three red stripes on yellow background" flag proudly hoisted at the Vietnamese Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day and the Four of July. It is the same flag that decorates the medals on the chests of million Vietnamese who have fled communist totalitarianism since 1975 and have successfully resettled in "the Land of the Free", the "three red stripes on yellow background" flag will always be a symbol of hope and love of freedom. It is the banner around which all free Vietnamese identify themselves and rally - as long as the dream of a Free Vietnameseremains alive and well.
Footnote:
( 1) The Sacred Symbol and Special Meaning of The Flag of Free Vietnamese
The Flag of Free Vietnamese has been formed from the sacred energy of sky and earth of Vietnam together with indomitable spirit of Vietnamese people during almost two thousand years of history since this flag was officially adopted by an Ordinance. It represents the peaceful apportunity, the everlasting success, and the imposing victory of Vietnamese people.
The Flag of Free Vietnamese has been ups and downs with the Vietnamese peoples imposing history. It represents democracy, freedom, human rights, brave will, peace and prosperity, and unity during the course of building and protecting the country of Vietnamesés ancestors.
The Flag of Free Vietnamese is not solely the property of any regime or any government\. It is the state property of free Vietnamese people. Should a regime be rotten or a government be a lackey to foreign powers, the Free VietnameseNational Flag does not risk a bad reputation. The Vietnamese people have to eliminate that regime or that government to protect their ancestors' flag colours. We cannot rely on the argument that the previous regimes or governments were no longer existed in order to be indifferent to this flag.
The Flag of Free Vietnameseis the nation's soul. The righteous cause, the fighting morale, and the unanimous unity depend on the presence of this flag. The Free Vietnamese National Flag is a denotation to identify those who are Vietnamese fredom-loving people and those who are Vietnamese Communists and their servants. Where there is a National Flag of Free Vietnamese, there are love, democracy, freedom, and human rights.
At the present time\. there are absolutely no freedom and no democracy of any kinds in Vietnam. Human rights are seriously abused by the Vietnamese communist regime.
During the course of fighting for freedom, democracy, and human rights of the people in Vietnam, we must have our whole-hearted support to maintain and wave high this National Flag of Free Vietnameseuntil the freedom, democracy, and human rights are finally realized in Vietnam. That is why, each time seeing the Free VietnameseNational Flag, the majority of freedom-democracy-loving Vietnamese, in Vietnam as well as around the world, feel as if they saw the nation's savior.
The great majority of the anti-communist Vietnamese organizations recognize the Flag of Free Vietnamese and consider this flag to be the soul of the unity and the struggle for just cause.
The National Flag of Free Vietnamesecontinues to be the official emblem of Free Vietnamesefor the freedom-loving Vietnamese people in Vietnam and abroad.
We - freedom-democracy-human rights-loving Vietnamese - should always preserve the Flag of Free Vietnamese and together unite under this flag to fight for freedom, democracy, human rithts, well-fed and well-clothed condition, happiness, peace, and prosperity of Vietnamese people in Vietnam.
The year of 1998 was also the year that the people around the world celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is one of the most important documents of this century. The Declaration contains 30 articles which set out fundamental rights that all humanity should be entitled to. The National Flag of Free Vietname and The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights were officially adopted in the same year, 1948. This is the significant coincidence of destiny, the perfect harmony for Vietnamese people. This is why the National Flag of Free Vietname also means human rights for Vietnamese people too.
With the glorious history of almost 2 thousand years of the National Flag of Free Vietnam, we hope, in the near future, the National Flag of Free Vietname- yellow background with three red bands - will be fluttering so numerous as to cover the whole Vietnamese sky.
(2) Origin, Formation, Philosophic Symbol of Flag of Free Vietnamese
In 40 AD, the Trưng Sisters, on the elephants' back, waved the Yellow Flag to fight against the Chinese invaders to regain independence for Vietnam. Since that year, the Yellow Flag appeared for the first time in the Vietnamese history.
In the Gia Long dynasty (1802-1820), the Yellow Flag was also used as the symbol of the Vietnamese Nation. In the Khải Ðịnh dynasty (1916-1925), the two red bands were ađed to the Yellow Flag to form the Long Tinh flag (Dragon Flag).
In 1945, when Trần Trọng Kim's government came into power, the miđle broken red band was ađed to the flag in the position between the two red bands of the former Yellow Flag to form the Quẻ Ly Flag. The Quẻ Ly Flag was the official flag of Vietnam at that time. Quẻ Ly is a divination sign of fabulous unicorn, sixth of the Bát Quái (the Eight Trigrams): Càn, Khảm, Cấn, Chấn, Tốn, Ly, Khôn, Ðoài. This divination sign of fabulous unicorn represents the sun, fire, beam of light, and civilization.
In 1948, when the former Emperor Bảo Ðại became the Chief of State of Vietnam, he ordered to change the broken red band into a continuous red band to form the Yellow Flag with three yellow red bands. Then, on June 2nd, 1948, the Chief of the Temporary Nantional Government of Vietnam, Brigadier General Nguyễn Văn Xuân, signed the Ordinance to specify the characteristics of the Free VietnameseNational Flag as follows:
The national emble is a flag of yellow background, the height of which is equal to two-thirds of its width. In the midle of the flag and along its entire width, there are three horizontal red bands. Each band has a height equal to one-fifteenth of the width. These three red bands are separated from one another by a space of the band's height.
(3) The Vietnamese Communist Flag
The "yellow star on red background" flag of communist Vietnam called the Social Republic of Vietnam (SRV) first made its official appearance in September 1945, when Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independence of Vietnam. As the SRV is now recognized by the United Nations and many nations in the world including the Unites States, its flag is questioned by all free Vietnamese around the world, including Vietnamese Americans.
Firstly, it is the symbol of a party imposed on the Vietnamese since August 1945. It was the official flag of the Indochinese Communist Party (1930-1945).
Secondly, it is an international flag, not a national flag. each point of the yellow star represents one of the five protectorates of the Union of French Indochina: Tonkin, Annam, Cochinchina, Cambodia, and Laos. By maintaining this flag, communist Vietnam on the one hand, harks back to a period of French colonialism, while on the other hand, keeping alive the imperialist ambition of an Indochinese Federation under Hanoi's thumb.
Thirdly, it is a communist flag. The blood red color of the background refers to the violence of class struggle and the ultimate victory of the proletariat revolution throughout the world, as proclaimed by international communists. But international communist is dead with the downfall of Soviet Union in 1991.
In brief, the Vietnamese communist flag symbolizes an antithesis to the very idea of freedom and peace that Vietnamese Americans and free Vietnamese around the world want to foster in our community and in generations of younger Vietnamese.
(4) Hue City 1968 massacre
The death outside hopital:
The death at hopital:
1st Mass Grave
2nd Mass grave at Gò Cát, March 7, 1969:
3rd Mass grave at Đá Mài spring (Nam Hòa province, Sept., 1969:
4th Mass grave at Phú Thứ salt-marsh, November, 1969:
The graves scattered around Hue City:
Missing :
Total casualty at Hue City, 1968 Tet Offensive
: |
1,900
844
1,173
809
428
300
200
1,946
7,600 |
(5)
 Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Defense Commemorative Medal
Dates: 1961 - 1975
Criteria: Stuck to honor all military personnel who served in South Vietnam or in direct support from Thailand, Guam, Okinawa or the waters off shore between 1962 and 1975.
(6) 50,000 American Servicemen served in Vietnam between 1960 and 1964.
· 9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the official Vietnam era (Aug.5, 1964-May 7, 1975).
· 3,403,100 (including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the Southeast Asia Theater (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, flight crews based in Thailand, and sailors in adjacent South China sea waters).
· 7,484 American women served in Vietnam. 6,250 were nurses.
· 8 nurses died-1 was killed in action.
· Vietnam Veterans represented 9.7% of their generation.
· 240 men were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam era.
· Hostile deaths: 47,378
· Non-hostile deaths: 10,800
· Missing in action: 2,338
· POWs: 766 (114 died in captivity).
· Wounded in action: 303,704
· Severely disabled: 75,000--23,214 100% disabled; 5,283 lost limbs; 1,081 sustained multiple amputations.
· Married men killed: 17,539
· Men under the age of 21 killed: 61%
· Average age of men killed: 22.8 years.
· Highest political office attained by a Vietnam veteran to date: Vice President Al Gore, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell ,General Tommy Franks (Irag War),
· Most successful Vietnam veteran/businessman to date: Frederick Smith of Federal Express.
· 79% of the men who served in Vietnam had a high school education or better when they entered the military service.
· The suicide rate of Vietnam veterans has always been well within the 1.7% norm of the general population.
· 97% of Vietnam-era veterans were honorably discharged.
["Myth vs. Reality" by B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley]
Five men killed in Vietnam were only 16 years old. [CACF]
The oldest man killed was 62 years old. [CACF]
11,465 KIAs were less than 20 years old. [CACF]
Vietnam Veterans represent 9.7% of their generation †
8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (Aug. 5, 1964 – March 28, 1973) †
2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam (Jan. 1, 1965 – March 28, 1973) †
Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam between 1960 and 1964 †
Of the 2.6 million, between 1 – 1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack.†
Peak troop strength in Vietnam: 543,482 (April 30, 1969)†
Total draftees (1965-1973): 1,728,344†
Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam†
National Guard: 6,140 served; 101 died†
Last man drafted: June 30, 1973†
97% of Vietnam veterans were honorably discharged†
91% of actual Vietnam War era veterans and 90% of those who saw heavy combat are proud to have served their country†
66% of Vietnam veterans say they would serve again if called upon†
VIETNAMESE FEDERATION OF SAN DIEGO
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