[Robin Hickman]

.
Hey, Pete!

Yeah, I think it's one of those "personal choice" things. There are a WHOLE lot more choices for finials for INDOOR flagpoles. If you take a look at some of the major manufacturers' catalogs, some of them have 10, 15, or more choices! All kinds of 'em! Animal, mineral, vegetable, political, religious, etc. Although I haven't seen a finial in the shape of the "middle-finger-salute", I'm sure that somewhere out there, somebody's made one!

Ah, well..... time to go !


Robin "Is That Your FINIAL Answer?" Hickman
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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[Cimerron]

Might be interesting to see what most military bases have on their flagpoles. Also what's used in DC where everything has to be politicaly correct.
I was at FT. Gordon in Augusta,Ga back in the sixties and they had a big silver ball on top of that pole. The story was that there was a .45 and a few shells in the ball and if the Fort was under attack somebody was to get the .45 and defend the flag and remove the flag if necessary and take it with them. However nobody said how the hell you were supposed to get to the top of the pole to get the gun nevermind how to get the ball open.
Now of course I know that story isn't true but at the time it was interesting.
Pete

[NAVA1974]

When considering the question of what ornament to use on top of a flagpole during war vs during peace time you need to consider the practicality of actually changing the ornaments. For parade flags (ie 5x6 ft +/-) mounted on poles for marching and ceremonial use, changing the ornaments would be unwieldy, but possible. For outdoor poles used in front of government buildings, commercial establishments, car dealers, etc., it is not possible to access the top once the pole is in place.

And then you need an authority to determine when we are at war. Was the Liberation of Kuwait over after the 100 hours of the ground war? Are we currently at war with Iraq and/or Afghanistan? Did the "Cold War" qualify? And technically we are still at "war" with Korea as the fighting ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a treaty of peace, so the United States has never been at "Peace" in my lifetime. A sad thought.

Maybe we could just take a cue from another country: Americans can replace the ball with an eagle whenever the Philippine flag is flying with the red bar on top.

Nick

[Cimerron]

All very good points Nick. As you say it seems that we are always fighting somewhere so put up the Eagle and that's it. The ball is just a cheaper way of putting something at the top of a pole but the Eagle makes more of a statement, I think, so I prefer it to the ball.
Also what do you mean by "the flag with the red bar on top"? I'm not familiar with that flag and I always thought the Phillipines were friendly to us and a Protectorate. Pete

[NAVA1974]

Originally Posted by Cimerron

Also what do you mean by "the flag with the red bar on top"? I'm not familiar with that flag and I always thought the Phillipines were friendly to us and a Protectorate. Pete

Pete,
The national flag of the Philippines has a white triangle at the hoist (with sun and stars in yellow) and the field of the flag is divided blue over red. When the Philippines are at war, they invert their flag so the field is red over blue. They are the only country I know of that alters their flag when at war vs peace.

For reference info go to Flags of the World and search for Philippines and you will find:

"The Flag Bulletin, Number 132 (1989) had an article entitled "Republic of the Philippines" in a section entitled "Recent Flags." Footnote 5 states "The Philippines is unique in having its national flag officially flown upside down when the country is at war. Executive Order No. 321 of 12 June 1950, section 1, paragraph 4, states that 'the Flag, if flown from a flagpole, should have its blue field on top in time of peace and the red field on top at time of war ....' The tradition, however, is much older: the first Philippine presdient, Emilio Aguinaldo, claimed that in the 1898-1899 War of Independence 'our National Flag had been hoisted with a red stripe up' (quoted on p. 52 of 'Our Country's Flag and Anthem' by Emanuel A. Baja.)"

I was jesting that if the USA can't tell if there is a war going on, we can find out by looking at the flag of the Philippines.

Nick

[Cimerron]

I think that's pretty neat Nick. WE should have a war flag too. Matter of fact every country ought to have a war flag .Then we could tell the players without having to guess at it like were doing now.
Thanks for the explanation. pete