Viet Cong Flag
Artifact IDMO 63.4705
Object Type
Flag
Date
March 1962
Place MadeVietnam, Asia
Medium
cotton
DimensionsOverall H 41 in x W 31 1/2 in (104.1 cm x 80 cm )
Physical DescriptionCotton stitched blue and maroon Viet Cong flag with an ivory star in the center.
Historical NoteThis flag was captured in March 1962 from the North Vietnamese Viet Cong by the South Vietnamese Self Defense Corps, who were villagers recently armed by the US Army. Lt. Col. John Stockton of the Military Assistance Advisory Group gave the flag to President Kennedy.
At the end of the French Indochina War, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned under the Geneva Accord of 1954. By 1961, that agreement had crumbled and a war between the Communist-dominated North and western-allied South Vietnam was underway. A Communist insurgency had also begun within South Vietnam.
Over the course of his presidency, Kennedy gradually increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam from the 700 authorized by the Eisenhower administration to 16,000, though JFK rejected advice to send in combat troops. He pressed the South Vietnamese government of President Ngo Dinh DIem, whose government was weakened by public protest and internal corruption, to institute political and economic reforms.
The instability of Diem's government and its apparent ineffectiveness frustrated the United States. On November 1, 1963, in a military coup approved by the Kennedy administration, the South Vietnamese government was overthrown and President Diem was assassinated.
Additional DetailsAt the end of the French Indochina War, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned under the Geneva Accord of 1954. By 1961, that agreement had crumbled and a war between the Communist-dominated North and western-allied South Vietnam was underway. A Communist insurgency had also begun within South Vietnam.
Over the course of his presidency, Kennedy gradually increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam from the 700 authorized by the Eisenhower administration to 16,000, though JFK rejected advice to send in combat troops. He pressed the South Vietnamese government of President Ngo Dinh DIem, whose government was weakened by public protest and internal corruption, to institute political and economic reforms.
The instability of Diem's government and its apparent ineffectiveness frustrated the United States. On November 1, 1963, in a military coup approved by the Kennedy administration, the South Vietnamese government was overthrown and President Diem was assassinated.
Custodial History NoteThis flag was given to President Kennedy on behalf of the American helicopter pilots in Vietnam, through Roger Hilsman.
Credit LineJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA; Gift of the Estate of President John F. Kennedy
National Archives Catalog CollectionJohn F. Kennedy Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 1676934)
National Archives Catalog SeriesKennedy Administration Collection 1960-1963 (National Archives Identifier 1676959)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedUse Restriction NoteThis material is not subject to any known copyright or other image use restrictions.In Collection(s)
Not on view
Related Links
Archives folder: "Archives folder regarding South Vietnam"