RAVEN Publishes Volume 14

With its 2007 issue Raven continues its standard format: several excellent articles on diverse flag topics. Some were presented first as papers at NAVA’s annual meeting in 2006; they represent the pinnacle of vexillological scholarship in North America and include the winner of the Captain William Driver Award. Each article, in its own way, connects history to the present through an understanding of flags and their use in Canada and the United States and beyond, showing that flags are much more than static bits of cloth—they form a dynamic part of human public ritual.

“To make the unmistakable signal ‘CANADA’”:
The Canadian Army’s “Battle Flag” during the Second World War
Ken Reynolds, Assistant Heritage Officer for the Canadian Forces at the Directorate of History and Heritage, Department of National Defence—Ottawa, Ontario.
When Canada entered the war as a dominion of the British Empire, the question of “under what flag would her troops fight?” resulted in a significant proposal which not only went into battle, it would influence the debate twenty years later over the design of the new national flag. This article draws on the archives of the Department of National Defence illuminate the history of that glorious flag.

Wave It or Wear It?
The United States Flag as a Fashion Icon
Laura K. Kidd, associate professor at Southern Illinois University—Carbondale, Illinois.
As Americans’ relationship with their flag evolved over two centuries, so too did their attitudes about using it as part of their clothing. This fascinating analysis and description of the changing opinions and styles of flag-wear in the United States traces its ups and downs from the Revolutionary era to today.

The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act:
Construction and Constitutionality
Brian Craig, attorney and adjunct instructor of law with the Minnesota School of Business/Globe College—Eagan, Minnesota
When NAVA member and flag dealer Hugh Warner approached his congressman about his customers’ problems with homeowners associations limiting flag display, Congress promptly passed an act prohibiting such restrictions. That act and its legal history receive an interesting and thorough discussion and analysis

Flags, Medals, and Decorations
Gustavo Tracchia, former NAVA vice president and Ottfried Neubecker Award-winner—Kew Gardens, New York
Phaleristics—the study of medals—provides an opportunity to explore the rich connections between medals and heraldry and flags. This article begins with the Crusades and traces many examples of flags whose colors, designs, or symbols ultimately derive from or influence the medals awarded by orders of knighthood and merit, and civil and military decorations.