WW2 California National Guard State Colors, Army National Guard Battle Flag 1954

Description

POST WWII California National Guard State Colors, Army National Guard Battle Flag, CIRCA 1954, Dettra Federal Contract
DoD Contract: Manufactured by Dettra Flag Company under the trade name Glory-Gloss.
CALIFORNIA FLAG SPEC IS 2:3 NOT 10:19 LIKE THIS GSPEC PIECE. A COMMERCIAL FLAG WOULD MEASURE 4ft x 6ft,........this particular piece measures 4ft-4in by 5ft-6in. This is a Dettra National Guard contract flag from the mid 1950s.
****THIS BATTLE FLAG as well as both “425th Military Government Company, California National Guard” Guidons are from the Lieutenant Colonel Cathcart estate.****
***********************************************
These Regimental State Colors are from the estate of Lieutenant Colonel Samuel W. Cathcart.
Lieutenant Colonial Cathcart was born July 7th, 1924 in Canute, Oklahoma.
Inducted from Long Beach, California, he served with "I" Co., 291st Infantry, 75th Infantry Division.
Duty stations include: Fort Leonard Wool Missouri, Camp Breckinridge Kentucky, England, France, & Belgium.
Among his awards are the Purple Heart & Silver Star medals.
He was discharged at Fort MacArthur, California on February, 1946 as a Staff Sergeant.
He graduated from UCSB in 1949 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant from ROTC.
He played pro football with the San Francisco 49ers from 1949-1950.
He was recalled to active duty in 1951.
He served as chief spec. ser. Letterman A.H.
He returned to the 49ers from 1952-1953.
He taught and coached at Santa Barbra High School for 30 years. He retired in 1984.
He retired from the Army National Guard in 1975 as Commanding Officer of 425th C.A./M.G. Co., Lieutenant Colonel.
He was inducted into the HALL OF FAME UCSB, SB Athletic Round Table, Long Beach Century Club and Coaches Hall of Fame, CIF.
He married Susan Curry in 1944. They have 4 children and 9 Grandchildren.
****THIS BATTLE FLAG as well as both “425th Military Government Company, California National Guard” Guidons are from the Lieutenant Colonel Cathcart estate.****
***********************************************
For your consideration is this 4ft x 5ft CALIFORNIA Army National Guard State Colors from the mid 1950's.
This is U.S. Army Spec flag. National Colors, State Colors, and Battle Standards were changed from a heavy silk flag material to a heavy rayon flag material with the 1955 US Army flag regulations.
This Government Contract piece is made by Dettra Flag Company under the trade name Glory-Gloss. This DoD contract piece, is made to Government specification. This flag is near to square.
First, when measuring a flag, you only measure the hoist by fly field. You don’t include the sleeve or header. California flag proportions are 2:3. This means that Commerce flags would measure: 2ft x 3ft, 3ft x 4ft-6in, 4ft x 6ft,...etc. This Army Spec California flag is approximately 12” shorter than a Commercial California flag.
This flag is sewn and made with a Rayon Acetate that is 95% Rayon, 5% Silk. This CALIFORNIA Battle flag has a flannel inner sleeve and silk fringing with leather tabs.
This flag dates from 1953-1956.
This flag is US Army Regulation from the mid-1950s. There is light discoloration along the fold lines of this piece.
What makes this a CALIFORNIA Battle Flag is that it is Square in shape. This flag doesn't follow CALIFORNIA flag regulations, it follows US Army Regulations from the mid 1950s. This flag measures 4ft by 5ft.
This piece is EXTREMELY RARE.
This is a 7.0 out of 10 in rarity.
US Army Regimental Flag Spec size is 4ft-4in by 5ft-6in. This regulation material is Rayon that can be substituted by Nylon. This flag measures 49”x 63". This is 4ft-1in by 5ft-3in. This is within error making this flag US Army Regulation.
It is extremely rare to find a California flag that is Army Spec. It’s even rarer to find the same flag made of Rayon. National Guards across the country were allowed to replace the Regimental State Colors with a flag measuring 4ft x 6ft and Company sized State Colors were replaced with flags measuring 3ft x 5ft.
These flag substitutes took place in the early 1960’s. You can see by the Dettra label, this is a mid 1954-55 Glory Gloss, Rayon Flag.
Note: see how the flag seems relatively near-to-square. In this aspect it mimics ground use, infantry battle flags, the shape of which is purposeful. Having these sort of proportions meant that the flag could be made as large as possible, yet not drag on the ground when carried due to excessive length on the bias. The absence of a formal header is further evidence that it was intended to be carried on foot or perhaps by horse. Instead the white rayon/silk was rolled over onto itself, lined with cotton, and bound in such a way to create an open sleeve. Through this a wooden staff would be passed, then tacked into place. Because early hand-carried flags are far-and-away scarcer than their rectangular counterparts, and are more graphically unusual from the norm, this is an attractive characteristic among flag collectors and enthusiasts.
In the case of many states, early examples of state colors fall between very scarce and extremely rare. One reason for this might be explained by production, was may have been extremely low. Another might be attributed to a general lack of nostalgia for a new or relatively new design, but whatever the involved variables might be, the fact remains that early state flags are generally just not out there to be found. That certainly applies to this Colorado example, which is simultaneously the earliest and nicest that I can recall having encountered to date.
All-in-all, an exciting find and a wonderful example.