American Flag Hood Decal

[Msfitoy]

OT but if you have a chance can you do me a favor and measure the hood ditch (flat part at centerline) for me? I'm trying to get an Ebayer to cut me a distressed American flag to fit there. The pic is a F150. If I can get this guy to size it for our Ranger, then everyone can get in on this.

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[HoosierT]

OT but if you have a chance can you do me a favor and measure the hood ditch (flat part at centerline) for me? I'm trying to get an Ebayer to cut me a distressed American flag to fit there. The pic is a F150. If I can get this guy to size it for our Ranger, then everyone can get in on this.

12” wide x 35” long.

 

[Jrye22]

OT but if you have a chance can you do me a favor and measure the hood ditch (flat part at centerline) for me? I'm trying to get an Ebayer to cut me a distressed American flag to fit there. The pic is a F150. If I can get this guy to size it for our Ranger, then everyone can get in on this.

I like the idea of that but I’d want the stars facing the windshield

 

[Msfitoy]

I like the idea of that but I’d want the stars facing the windshield

Proper American flag etiquette requires the star to always be leading

 

[VAMike]

Proper American flag etiquette requires the star to always be leading

There's this crazy practice that has come up in treating a printed flag as if it were a flag on a staff, but it isn't really. A flag that's displayed (such as this one) always has the stars in the upper left. The "treat the flag as though it's on a staff" thing is a post-vietnam army style that people have started copying for various reasons ranging from confusion to "it looks cool". As for whether keeping the blue canton in the upper left is "wrong", I'll point out that the men of the 101st that jumped into Europe wore a flag on their right shoulder with the canton in the upper left and I'll dare anyone to say they did it "wrong".

 

[SRAces]

There's this crazy practice that has come up in treating a printed flag as if it were a flag on a staff, but it isn't really. A flag that's displayed (such as this one) always has the stars in the upper left. The "treat the flag as though it's on a staff" thing is a post-vietnam army style that people have started copying for various reasons ranging from confusion to "it looks cool". As for whether keeping the blue canton in the upper left is "wrong", I'll point out that the men of the 101st that jumped into Europe wore a flag on their right shoulder with the canton in the upper left and I'll dare anyone to say they did it "wrong".

It's up to the individual as there is no pure concise guidance. The military has regulations that state that on the right shoulder or the right side of vehicles the stars will be facing forward. But that applies to the military. At least while I was in that was the guidance. USAF (retired).

 

[VAMike]

It's up to the individual as there is no pure concise guidance. The military has regulations that state that on the right shoulder or the right side of vehicles the stars will be facing forward. But that applies to the military. At least while I was in that was the guidance. USAF (retired).

It's been true when painted on the side of a vehicle forever (well over a century), the idea was that the painted representation was taking the place of a flag on a staff in that context when the use of an actual flag was for some reason not warranted. The use on a uniform is much more recent, and the level of passion involved in whether that's "the way things should be" helps date someone's years of service.

Putting the stars first on a hood makes sense if one considers it to be like a flag on a staff held horizontally, flapping like batman's cape in the wind.

 

[THLONE]

It's been true when painted on the side of a vehicle forever (well over a century), the idea was that the painted representation was taking the place of a flag on a staff in that context when the use of an actual flag was for some reason not warranted. The use on a uniform is much more recent, and the level of passion involved in whether that's "the way things should be" helps date someone's years of service.

Putting the stars first on a hood makes sense if one considers it to be like a flag on a staff held horizontally, flapping like batman's cape in the wind.

Well it is the stars and stripes not the stripes and stars. I put waving flags on my outboard, it just seemed right for the stars to go first

 

[Msfitoy]

 

[Tra1969]

This is what I had looked up and knew from my time is Iraq. Still leaves the question of what side the field of blue should be on. Seems like in all the rules the star field is on the left so I would assume your would be correct. But anyway looks awesome on the hood.

Civilians often wonder why is the Army Flag Patches reversed. The answer is: not all Army Flag Patches are reversed, but only those worn on the right shoulder. The reason has to do with proper display of the flag.

The blue field of stars should always be in the highest position of honor. When viewing the flag on a wall, the highest position of honor is the upper left when displayed horizontally, and at the top (upper left) when displayed vertically. When displayed on a "moving object" like a person or vehicle, the highest position of honor is the front, and not the rear; so the field of blue should be displayed to the front.

The same principle applies to the eagle rank of Colonels (or Navy Captains); the eagles' heads are always worn facing forward when worn on the uniform, as the forward-facing eagle is the position of honor within heraldry.

In application, then, flags are displayed on moving vehicles with the blue-star field always displayed towards the front of the vehicle. In this way, the flag appears to be blowing in the wind as the vehicle travels forward (flags are always attached to their flag poles on the blue field side). If the flag were not reversed on the right hand side of the vehicle, the vehicle might appear to be moving backwards (or "retreating").

The next time you visit an airport, notice that the US-flagged aircraft also have a "reverse" flag painted on the right side of the aircraft.

For flag patches worn on uniforms, the same principle applies: the blue star field always faces towards the front, with the red and white stripes behind. Think of the flag, not as a patch, but as a loose flag attached to the Soldier's arm like a flag pole. As the Soldier moves forward, the red and white stripes will flow to the back.

As the proponent for standardization and authorization of heraldry items within the Department of Defense, the Institute of Heraldry addresses the apparent oddity of the reverse flag patch by stating, "When worn on the right sleeve, it is considered proper to reverse the design so that the union is at the observer's right to suggest that the flag is flying in the breeze as the wearer moves forward."

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