United States Flag Patch

It began as a simple banner stitched in defiance, a symbol carried by a nation still struggling to define itself. Over the centuries, the United States Flag has flown above battlefields, ship decks, schoolyards, moon landings, and quiet porches across the country. It has been raised by exhausted Marines on Mount Suribachi, draped over the coffins of fallen heroes, carried into the skies by astronauts, and worn proudly by millions who served in uniform. No symbol in American history has absorbed more sacrifice, more hope, or more resolve.

Its story starts in 1777, when the Continental Congress declared that the flag should bear thirteen stars and stripes for the original colonies. Under that early banner, soldiers crossed the Delaware with George Washington. The flag flew at Fort McHenry as British guns lit the sky, inspiring Francis Scott Key to pen the words that would become the national anthem. It rode into Mexican villages during the Mexican-American War, and it followed Union troops as they marched toward victory in the Civil War.

By the time General Pershing’s Doughboys stormed the trenches of France in World War I, the Stars and Stripes had become the emblem of American resolve. In World War II, it flew on Higgins boats landing at Normandy, on the decks of carriers at Midway, and on the shoulders of U.S. soldiers fighting from North Africa to Okinawa. When the war ended, the image of Marines raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi became one of the most iconic photographs ever taken—an immortal testament to courage and sacrifice.

In the Cold War, the flag stood against Soviet expansion in Berlin and Korea, and it flew over aircraft carriers shadowing submarines beneath the polar ice. During Vietnam, it accompanied troops through jungles and rice paddies, lifted morale at firebases, and returned home folded to grieving families. It later waved over burning oil fields in Desert Storm, over forward operating bases in Iraq, and over remote outposts in Afghanistan.

Beyond war, the flag has marked some of America’s greatest achievements: it was hoisted on the Moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, draped across Ground Zero in the days after 9/11, and saluted during humanitarian missions around the globe. To millions of veterans, the flag is more than cloth—it is every oath they swore, every hardship they endured, and every brother or sister they lost.

The United States Flag patch honors all of that history. It stands as a tribute to a nation’s journey—its triumphs, its struggles, its sacrifices, and the people who defended it across generations. To wear it is to carry the story of America: imperfect, resilient, and unbreakably committed to freedom.