Coast Guard Battle Streamers

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There is no doubt that the Coast Guard cherishes its many peace time activities.? But it is also proud of its service in the wars of the United States.? The "system of cutters" was only seven years old when several of its fleet fought in the Quasi-War with France.? In this war and the War of 1812, these small, lightly armed cutters proved their worth against experienced European warships.??

The Coast Guard adopted battle streamers in 1968 following the practice established by the U.S. Marine Corps.? The U.S. Army, however, was the first U.S. armed service to begin the practice of awarding and displaying battle streamers, beginning officially in 1920.

Battle honors were first depicted by inscribing the names of battles on the organizational color or guidon.? On 25 August 1861, Major General John C. Fremont, commanding the Western Department,commended troops from Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri for their extraordinary service in the battle of Wilson's Creek, near Springfield, Missouri which had occurred 10 days earlier.? The Union soldiers had fought a Confederate force five times as large and the battle ended in a moral victory for the Union Army. Fremont ordered the word "Springfield" to be emblazoned on the colors of the units involved in the fighting.? General Order 19, War Department,22 February 1862, prescribed that there should be inscribed upon the color or guidons of all regiments and batteries the names of the battles in which they had borne a meritorious part.

On 7 February 1890, the use of inscribed battle honors upon the national and regimental colors was discontinued and engraved silver rings, now called silver bands, were authorized. This practice continued until 1918 when the silver bands were in short supply and the War Department authorized the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces (Gen. John J.Pershing) to locally procure ribbon as a substitute and inscribe on the ribbon strips the name of special battles and major operations that color bearing units of the AEF had been engaged in during World War I. These ribbon strips became the forerunners of our present day campaign streamers.? Hand embroidered silk streamers were introduced on 3 June 1920. The original directive prescribed that there would be a silk streamer for each war in which the organization participated in the theatre of operations and to be the color of the campaign ribbon for the different wars. The name of the battle or campaign of a war was embroidered on the ribbon.? Unit award streamers were also first authorized in 1920 when the War Department authorized a blue silk streamer with the name ofthe action embroidered thereon. The streamer was adopted to reflect organizations "Mentioned In Orders" by the War Department for meritorious service in action.

Streamers are attached to the Coast Guard standard, replacing cords and tassels.? They are carried in all ceremonies representing heroic actions in all naval encounters from 1798 to the Vietnam War and beyond.? Only major headquarters commands may display a complete set of battle streamers.? Individual units may only display those they have earned.??

The Coast Guard has authorized a total of 34 battle streamers.

Battle Streamers

Battle Streamer: Colors:
French Naval War Light blue with two groupings of red, white and blue stripes
War of 1812 The streamer is scarlet with two white stripes with the following inscriptions in yellow. Scarlet is again used to symbolize the former mother country and the two white stripes symbolize our second successful defense of our homeland against the same enemy in the preceding conflict.
Indian War The streamer is scarlet with two black stripes. Red is a sacred color with all Indians and is usually considered symbolic of strength and success. The color red, symbolic of war, is also a symbol of day and the Sun god. The color black, symbolic of death and mourning, is also a symbol of night and the Underworld god.
Mexican War The streamers are green with a white center stripe. The color green is one of the colors associated with ancient Mexico and the colors green and white appear in the present Mexican tricolor flag. The white center stripe also represents the United States flag.
Civil War The Civil War battle streamer is one-half blue and one-half gray. Blue refers to Federal Service and gray is indicative of the Confederacy, joined together they represent the unification of the country after the Civil War.
Spanish Campaign Yellow with two blue stripes. The color yellow was suggested by the field of the Spanish flag. The two blue stripes of the streamer refer to the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean Sea) and the Pacific Ocean (Philippine Sea). The three yellow portions of the ribbon allude to Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands, the areas of the conflict.
World War I Victory The World War I Victory ribbon is the World War I Victory Medal ribbon which had a red center with a rainbow on each side of the center stripe and a purple edge. The double rainbow symbolizes the dawn of a new era and the calm which follows the storm.
China Service Yellow with two red stripes
Yangtze Service Blue with two groupings of yellow and red stripes
American Defense Service Yellow with two groupings of yellow and red stripes
American Campaign Light blue with a narrow blue, white and red stripe in the center and a narrow white, red, black and white stripe on each side. The blue represents the Americas and the white and black refers to the German part of the conflict while the red and white refers to the Japanese part of the conflict on the Pacific coast.
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Green with a brown stripe on each edge. The center has a narrow blue, white and red stripe. On the upper portion is a narrow white and red stripe with a narrow white, black and white stripe on the lower portion. The brown color is representative of the sands of Africa and the green color for the green fields of Europe. The central blue, white, and red stripes taken from the American Defense Medal ribbon refers to the continuance of American Defense after Pearl Harbor. Green, white, and red are the Italian colors, and the white and black colors refer to Germany.
Croix De Guerre, French, World War II Red with four green stripes.
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Yellow with a narrow blue, white and red center stripe and a narrow white, red and white stripe on each side. The yellow color represents Asia; the blue, white, and red stripes taken from the American Defense Medal refer to the continuance of American Defense after Pearl Harbor. The red and white stripes are the Japanese colors.
Philippine Defense Red with two white stripes.
Philippine Liberation Red with one blue and one white stripe.
Presidential Unit Citation Blue, gold, red.
Philippine Independence Blue with yellow border stripes and red, white, red center grouping..
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Three stripes (blue, white, and red) with the inscription "17 October 1944 to 4 July 1945" embroidered in yellow.
World War II Victory Red with rainbow border groupings and two white stripes.
Navy Occupation Service Red and black, equally divided on white.
Korean Service Light blue with a white center stripe and a narrow white stripe on each edge. The medium blue and white are the colors of the United Nations referring to the UN mission.
Navy Unit Commendation Green with two groupings of blue, yellow and red stripes.
National Defense Service Red with yellow center and two groupings of white, blue, white stripes.
Armed Forces Expeditionary Light blue with a narrow blue, white and red stripe in the center. On each edge is a narrow green, yellow, red, and black stripe. The colors red, white and blue refer to the United States while the light blue suggests water and overseas service. The stripes of brown, black, green and yellow are indicative of the various areas of the world where the Armed Forces of the United States might be called upon to serve.
Vietnam Service Yellow with three red stripes through the center. It has a green stripe on each side. The yellow with red stripes was suggested by the flag of the Republic of Vietnam. The green alludes to the jungle.
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army, Saigon) Scarlet
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Green with two groupings of yellow, blue and yellow and red center
RVN Armed Forces Meritorious Unit Citation, Gallantry Cross with Palm A yellow center stripe with a red stripe on each edge. Eight pairs of thin red lines are on the yellow stripe with palm
RVN Meritorious Unit Citation, Civil Actions Medal First Class Color, with Palm Green with a red stripe near each edge and two red center stripes and palm.
Southwest Asian Campaign Tan with a black border and center stripe. On each side of the black center is a green stripe. A grouping of red, white, and blue stripes are centered on each side. The sand colored ribbon with red, white, blue, green, and black stripes represent the desert and the colors of the United States and the coalition members.
African Slave Trade Patrol White, with blue border stripes and a blue stripe down the center; red and blue stripes above center stripe and green and red stripes beneath center stripe.
Operations Against West Indian Pirates Blue center stripe, with yellow border stripes; between center and outside stripes are two sets of black, white, and black stripes bordering each side of the center.
Maritime Protection of the New Republic Alternating horizontal stripes of scarlet and white (eight of each), based on the original Revenue Marine Service's ensign.
  
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