Visitors and employees entering the front lobby of the McNamara Headquarters Complex may have noticed some changes. Two sets of military flags, part of a project requested by Defense Logistics Agency Director Navy Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek, were displayed to improve the aesthetics of the entrance.
Bethany Sweatman, a management analyst for the DLA Installation Support at Fort Belvoir, Va., Business Office, explained that her office was assigned the task. While researching the various flags, she came across some interesting finds.
“When I started doing research on what kind of flags were out there, I found a lot that I didn’t even know existed, especially from the Civil War and Revolutionary War,” she said. “I even found flags representative of specific battles, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill. It’s something that you always learn about in history class but you don’t think about them carrying that flag into battle.”
After Sweatman selected several flags based on historical relevance, appeal and significance, Harnitchek made the final choices.
“With the admiral being a Navy guy, I proposed some Navy-oriented flags including the Commodore Perry Flag that says, ‘Don’t Give Up the Ship’ and the ‘First Navy Jack’ flags,” Sweatman said. “I also pulled flags from different eras as well as several historical versions of the current U.S. flag. I chose ones that had an interesting story behind them or ones from a significant time in history. The admiral is a really big history buff and contributed many suggestions on different flags. His in-depth knowledge of the history of various flags ensured we were able to obtain a good representation of historical flags.”
Several flags, including the 13-star Betsy Ross Flag and the Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” Flag, were installed in June, just in time for DLA’s Family Day activities. A second set, including the Rhode Island Regiment Flag and the Alamo Flag, followed in late July.
“We started with a set of 10 on the third floor,” Sweatman said. “The director liked them so we went ahead and added another set of 10 flags on the fourth floor. The director also provided a number of flags from his personal collection. Because they were a different size, we put them on display in other locations throughout the building.”
Among the unique flags displayed are the Bennington Flag, the 34 Star Flag and the Star Spangled Banner Flag. The Bennington, a Revolutionary War era flag associated with the Battle of Bennington, Vt., in 1777, features stars with seven points and a unique stripe arrangement with white stripes displayed on each end of the flag. The 34 Star Flag, created in 1861 after the admission of Kansas, was flown throughout the Civil War and remained the official flag of the United States until 1863 when West Virginia rejoined the Union. Created after the Flag Act of 1794, the Star Spangled Banner Flag is the only flag to feature 15 stripes instead of 13, representing Vermont and Kentucky joining the union. It’s also the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem during the War of 1812.
The lobby flags, which measure 4 feet by 6 feet, have been well received by HQC employees.
“Our chief of staff (Fred Baillie) received feedback from a lot of people who would just stop him in the hall and ask him questions about the flags and what they meant,” Sweatman said.
Flags on the third floor are in order by era, starting with the left side flags from early American history, and ending with the current U.S. flag on the right side. The flags on the fourth floor were not arranged in any historical order, Sweatman said, adding that the flags are just one of the changes planned for the lobby.
Other changes include a set of picture banners as a tribute to the military and the recent addition of a set of digital light boxes displaying photos of military men and women on the granite wall on the second floor. DLA was also successful in obtaining a Civil War cannon from the Army Museum. The cannon will be displayed on the second floor overlooking the main entrance of the McNamara Headquarters Complex