The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received October 27, 2023.
Sometime in October a bag of seven used American flags was dropped off at the Haddam Town Office Building to be properly destroyed. Members of the Haddam Veterans Museum reviewed the seven flags and were surprised to discover that one was a 44-star flag, one was a 46-star flag, two were 48-star flags and three were 50-star flags. The following is a history of these flags;
—The 44-star flag recognized Wyoming as the 44th state, and was in service from July 4, 1890 to July 3, 1896.
—The 46-star flag recognized Oklahoma as the 46th state, and was in service from July 4, 1908 to July 3, 1912.
—There was a 47-star flag for Mexico, but it was in service for only one month in 1912. This is a very rare flag and there are only ten known to be still in existence.
—The 48-star flag recognized New Mexico and Arizona as the 47th and 48th states, and was in service from July 4, 1912 to July 5, 1959.
—The 50-star flag recognized Hawaii as the 50th state, and has been in service since July 4, 1960.
The Veterans Museum is reaching out to Haddam residents in an effort to locate the individual who dropped off these remarkable flags. We are interested in their history and in how they found Haddam as their home.
Some of these flags are in excellent condition and it is our plan to have them professionally framed in order to preserve them so that they may be displayed.
And while on the subject, if you have any military items such as uniforms, photos, medals, ribbons, etc. that you feel the Museum might be interested in, please contact us. It would be a shame to just discard these items because no one has any interest in them.
If you have any information on these flags, anything you wish to donate, or any questions please contact Rick Annino at 860-250-2011.
Thank you,
Richard J. Annino
Haddam Veterans Museum Committee Member
