Flag of Guam

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Infobox flag The flag of Guam was adopted on February 9, 1956.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The territorial flag is a dark blue field with a narrow red border on all sides. The red border – a later addition – represents the blood spilled during World War II and earlier Spanish sovereignty. In the center of the flag is the seal of Guam; almond in shape, it depicts a proa sailing in Hagåtña Bay near Hagåtña, and GUAM in red letters.<ref>Grabowski, John F. (1992). U.S. Territories and Possessions (State Report Series). Chelsea House Pub. Page 39. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref>Kristen, Katherine (1999). Pacific Islands (Portrait of America). San Val. Page 46. Template:ISBN.</ref> The shape of the emblem recalls the sling stones used by ancient Chamorro people. The landform in the background depicts the Two Lovers Point cliff on the northern edge of Tumon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The flag was designed by Helen Paul in 1917, without the red border, and accepted the same year by then-Governor of Guam Roy Campbell Smith. The flag was formally adopted in 1930. Military governor Charles Alan Pownall approved the version with the red border in 1948.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

As a complement to the Guam flag, and in response to Guam law providing for municipal flags, efforts were made to depict the culture of the island’s 19 municipalities on respective flag. This was collaborated through the Mayors' Council with the assistance of artist Gerard Aflague, a native of Guam. These municipal flags are to reflect unique aspects of each village.Template:Citation needed

Design

The flag of Guam consists of a blue rectangle of Template:Convert by Template:Convert, trimmed on all sides with a Template:Convert wide red border.<ref>"[A] rectangular field of marine blue seventy-eight inches long and forty inches wide, trimmed on all sides with a border of deep red two inches in width" (Guam Code Annotated, Title 1: General Provisions — Unified Courts of Guam Template:Webarchive). Template:Math.</ref> The coat of arms in the center is twenty-four inches tall and sixteen inches wide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Colours

The colours on the flag of Guam are: Template:Pantone table

History

The Chamorro people, indigenous to Guam did not have a flag, nor did the island when under Spanish rule (1521–1898). Following the Spanish-American War, Helen L. Paul, the wife of a U.S. naval officer stationed in Guam, had the thought to design a flag for Guam. She designed the emblem after the slingshot stones used by the Chamorros for hunting and sport, and put it on a blue field to resemble the flags of other US territories and states. The emblem shows the mouth of the Hagåtña River with an outrigger canoe and a coconut palm. The cliff in the background is Two Lovers Point.<ref name=":0" />

This flag was officially adopted on July 4, 1917, American Independence day, by the territorial government of Guam. The red border was added to commemorate the suffering of the Japanese occupation of Guam during World War II.