Thursday, July 4, 2013

Patriotic Young Women 1940's


Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture that fit this week's Sepia Saturday prompt. I did, however, find a picture of two patriotic young women posing in front of a service flag. Originally used in the First World War, service flags became popular again in the Second and were hung in the windows of those with family serving in the war. Each blue star represented a family member fighting, and each gold star represented family members who had died during service.  They are still used today.

To all my fellow Americans, Happy 4th of July!

And if you know who these two ladies may be, let us know in the comments!


Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

14 comments:

  1. WendyJuly 4, 2013 at 6:15 PM

    I'm afraid service flags and their symbolism are new to me. Very interesting though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nigel Aspdin (Derby, UK)July 4, 2013 at 9:13 PM

    Yes, well spotted. There is a Wiki page about service flags at
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_flag

    ReplyDelete
  3. Helen Killeen Bauch McHargueJuly 5, 2013 at 10:38 AM

    Thanks for the interesting information about service flags. I'll keep a lookout for them henceforth. Such a perfect post for the 4th celebration.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KristinJuly 5, 2013 at 4:57 PM

    I did know about service flags being used in prior wars but didn't realize they were still used today.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brett PayneJuly 5, 2013 at 7:21 PM

    I'd not heard of service flags either, and this one is so diminutive, that it was hard to spot, not knowing what to look for.

    ReplyDelete
  6. KathyJuly 5, 2013 at 8:59 PM

    You were good to spot it! I think I would have missed it completely.

    ReplyDelete
  7. PostcardyJuly 6, 2013 at 6:19 AM

    It is a good picture of the girls, and I like the glimpse inside the window.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bob ScotneyJuly 6, 2013 at 9:38 AM

    And I thought a service flag was what I have to suffer in a supermarket. Seriously though I had not heard of these before.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Little NellJuly 6, 2013 at 12:37 PM

    I'm enjoying a real education in Sepia saturday today!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Emily EJuly 6, 2013 at 4:00 PM

    Thanks everyone for your comments! The flag was something that actually jumped out at me when I bought the picture. I knew a little about service flags already, but enjoyed researching them more. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. JoanJuly 6, 2013 at 4:05 PM

    My grandmother was so proud of her service flag --- only 1 star, but it was for her baby boy. Good choice for this holiday week -- at least hear in the States.

    ReplyDelete
  12. 21 WitsJuly 6, 2013 at 5:37 PM

    Very interesting picture. At first glance I wondered what all was going on in the windows! Now I know!

    ReplyDelete
  13. North County Film ClubJuly 7, 2013 at 3:54 PM

    Yes, I had heard about service flags but I've never seen one until your photo. That means they had 3 sons serving in the war? Wow, hope they all came home.
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tattered and LostJuly 7, 2013 at 4:06 PM

    When you think of how common service flags were to neighborhoods during WW2 and how foreign they are today, considering we've been fighting two wars. So few people have participated in these last two. Nope, we went shopping.

    That's a nice photo.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)