Dear gwc-ga;
I’m pleased to help you find the answer to your question regarding one
of the finest and most historical projects ever launched in the United
States by a private citizen. The short answer is that a number of
people on a design team, commissioned by a US based flag manufacturer,
“Annin & Company”, worked in concert on the project that conceived the
design seen on the POW/MIA flag today.
Here, however, is the long story about how it came to be:
On January 7, 1970, Lt. Commander Michael George Hoff, USN, was listed
as missing in action over Laos, when his Sidewinder A7A Corsair II
aircraft failed to return to the deck of USS Coral Sea. Although he
was able to radio his “mayday” to the ship before his plane crashed
into a dense forest near the city of Sepone (Loss Coordinates: 164300N
1055100E XD158627), his body was never recovered. Hoff was only one of
almost 600 Americans listed as missing in action in Laos alone. Over
the years, the Laotian government has repeatedly denied having taken
any Americans prisoners during the war. At the same time, the Lao
communist faction, the Pathet Lao, has admitted to having “tens of
tens” of American prisoners of war. Our own government’s official
explanation for the unreturned soldiers is due to the fact that the
Pathet Lao did not participate in the Paris Peace Talks, therefore we
were never able to negotiate for the return of these 600 missing human
beings, alive or dead. (Unofficially, the involvement of US troops in
Laos was highly classified at the time and is still defended even to
this day. To press the Laos MIA issue would be to declassify certain
documents, which the government is not ready to do). The POW Network
web site is quoted as saying, “Although the numbers of men actually
termed "prisoner of war" are quite low, this can be explained in
understanding the blanket of security surrounding the "secret war" the
U.S. waged in Laos. Only a handful of publicly exposed cases were ever
acknowledged POW, even though scores of pilots and ground personnel
were known to have been alive and well at last contact (thus
increasing the chance they were captured alive).”
In 1971, Mrs. Michael Hoff, a member of the National League of
Families whose husband was one of the men who were never negotiate
for, saw the need for a readily recognizable symbol in remembrance of
our country’s POW/MIAs. After reading an article in the Jacksonville,
Florida “Times-Union” about a flag manufacturer called “Annin &
Company”, that had produced a large flag for the People’s Republic of
China to be used to represent that country at the United Nations, Mrs.
Hoff contacted company Vice-President, Norman Rivkees, with her idea.
Rivkees, it turned out, was sympathetic to the POW/MIA issues and
agreed to assist her. He immediately ordered the company’s advertising
agency to design a flag that would suit the endeavor’s needs. “Annin &
Company” was the first to produce the flag you see flying daily in
thousands of locations across the United States today. The actual
design of the flag was a cumulative effort on the part of the
company’s advertising department.
On March 9, 1989, as a result of legislation passed overwhelmingly
during the 100th Congress, an official League POW/MIA flag was
installed in the US Capitol Rotunda, and to this day is the only flag
that has ever been displayed there. It is said that the flag will
remain until the fullest possible accounting for American POW/MIA’s
has been achieved.
Further official recognition came on August 10, 1990 when the 101st
Congress passed public law 101-355, which designates the flag "as the
symbol of our Nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as
possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and
unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for
their families and the Nation". The POW/MIA flag bears the historical
significance of being the only flag in the history of the United
States, other than old Glory, to fly over the White House. During the
first term of the 105th Congress Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense
Authorization Act was passed which permits the flying of the League’s
POW/MIA flag “each year on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day,
Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day and Veterans Day on
the grounds or in the public lobbies of major military installations
as designated by the Secretary of the Defense, all Federal national
cemeteries, the national Korean War Veterans Memorial, the National
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the White House, the United States Postal
Service post offices and at the official offices of the Secretaries of
State, Defense and Veteran’s Affairs, and Director of the Selective
Service System”.
If you are seeking a means of advertisement using POW/MIA flyers and
posters you can call the League at (703) 602-2102, Ext. 169
I hope my research proves useful to you and answers any questions you
may have had about this most noble and patriotic project.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
National League of POW/MIA Families
“Flag History”
http://www.pow-miafamilies.org/flaghistory.html
National League of POW/MIA Families
“Background”
http://www.pow-miafamilies.org/leaguebackgrnd.html
In Memory of Lt. Commander Michael George Hoff, USN
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/8911/
All POW/MIA Histories – POW/MIA Flag
http://www.aiipowmia.com/histories/histpwflag.html
“Annin & Company”
http://www.annin.com/
Official League Vendor List
http://www.pow-miafamilies.org/vendors.html
4 Seests in Paradise
http://our.homewithgod.com/ewerluvd/ourpowmia.htm
P.O.W. Network
The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in
Southeast Asia
1005 North Glebe Road
Suite 170
Arlington, Virginia 22201
(TEL) 703-465-7432
Federal Tax ID #23-7071242
NATIONAL COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN (CFC) ELIGIBILITY NUMBER IS 1174 |
Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
31 Oct 2002 12:33 PST
Dear gwc-ga;
The creation of the POW/MIA flag has long been considered a group
effort on the part of Mrs. Hoff, Annin & Company and the advertising
team they commissioned to do the work. I assumed that you wanted to
official version of how the flag came to be rather than a particular
person’s name.
If one person were to be credited with the design of the flag it would
be Newton Heisley, a former World War II pilot, who worked on the New
York design team commissioned by Annin & Company to submit designs for
consideration. Heisley himself says that he sketched the design using
the gaunt silhouette of his son Jeffrey, flanked by barbed wire and a
tower to depict the life of a prisoner of war.
Newt Heisley's black and white pencil sketch was reportedly one of
several different designs that were considered for the new flag.
Originally, Mr. Heisley intended to add color to his design but said
that his rough draft was the one accepted and produced by Annin &
Company for the POW/MIA Flag before he could finish the artwork
completely.
I called Mary Hoff’s organization, The National League of Families of
American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, in Arlington,
Virginia (703-465-7432) to inquire on your behalf as to the accuracy
of Mr. Heisley’s claims. I was told that his account is most likely
factual though no one person is being credited with the work and no
copyright has ever been sought for the design. Since Mr. Heisley
worked for the agency commissioned by Annin to do the work, I suspect
that he was at least one of the members on the design team, therefore
his design could very well have been the one we see on the flag today.
Mary Hoff, window of Lt. Cmdr. Michael Hoff, USN, (he was promoted to
the rank of Commander before being declared dead) conceived the
concept of the POW/MIA Flag.
Annin & Company, under the direction of then Vice-President Norman
Rivkees, produced the flag, bearing a design that was submitted by
their New York advertising team, upon which Mr. Heisley was a member.
Until Mr. Heisley came forward with these claims, the matter was
considered a team effort; therefore the facts I originally provided
for you regarding the origin of the flag are indeed accurate. Just as
the person who fires the last shot in a war cannot be credited with
“ending” it, Mr. Heisley’s contribution to his design team was also a
team effort. No single person is indisputably credited with this
honor.
I hope this provides the clarification you need.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
POW/MIA Flag
http://www.homeofheroes.com/hallofheroes/1st_floor/flag/1bfb_disp9c.html
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
PRESS RELEASE SEPT 16, 2001
http://web.uccs.edu/ur/pr/pr_9_16_2002.htm
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Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
31 Oct 2002 14:58 PST
C O N F I R M E D !!!
I just spoke to Mr. Newton Heisley PERSONALLY via telephone only
moments ago and he confirmed that the accepted by Annin and approved
by “The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing
in Southeast Asia” for use on the POW/MIA flag is indeed one that he
submitted
According to Heisley, in 1971 he was the Creative Design Director for
Hayden Advertising Company in New Jersey. (The Company’s owner,
Douglas Hayden has since died and the company is no longer in
business). Hayden was approached by Annin and asked to submit several
designs to be considered for use on the new POW/MIA flag. As Creative
Design Director, Heisley’s division received the order. He said that
he personally sketched three different images, which were submitted to
Annin. He expected the selection to be made and to be asked to finish
the sketch by adding color and detail to the work. The next thing he
hear, he says, was that Annin had adopted the draft of his sketch and
as the emblem they would be using on the flag, therefore, no other
colors or details were ever added. Heisley said that the image has
always been public domain at his insistence and no copyright has ever
been sought or obtained for the image. He said it was his “gift” to
the soldiers who remain unaccounted for. Heisley went on to say that
the creation of the flag was a group effort made up of many men and
women and that no single person is to take sole credit for its
creation.
Interestingly, when asked what became of the other images he submitted
that were turned down, Heisley said he did not know. He figures that
Annin & Company was the last entity to possess them. It is possible
that they are still out there somewhere. In terms of a historical
memorabilia, they might be quite valuable if they were to be found in
his lifetime (he is now 80 years old) and he is able to verify that
the sketches are indeed his. On another interesting note, Heisley said
“If I had a nickel for every flag I had created in my life, I’d have a
million dollars”. The POW/MIA flag, it appears, is not the only
“Heisley” creation out there!
I hope this answers your questions.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
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