Flag of the US Virgin Islands

What the flag of the US Virgin Islands looks like

The flag of the United States Virgin Islands has a white field with a stylized golden-yellow eagle at the center, with its wings spread. The eagle holds a sprig of laurel in one talon and three arrows in the other. On its chest is a shield modeled on the one in the coat of arms of the United States, with a blue upper part and stripes below. To the left of the eagle is a blue letter V, and to the right a blue letter I, standing for Virgin Islands.

The eagle is a simplified version of the eagle in the coat of arms of the United States, with three arrows instead of thirteen. You can find image files on the download page, and the emoji is at /us-virgin-islands/emoji/.

US Virgin Islands flag meaning and symbolism

The eagle and the shield identify the islands as US territory. The laurel sprig symbolizes victory. The three arrows represent the three major islands: St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. The letters V and I are simply the initials of the Virgin Islands.

History of the US Virgin Islands flag

The islands were a Danish colony, the Danish West Indies, from the 17th and 18th centuries. Denmark sold them to the United States for 25 million dollars, and the transfer took place on 31 March 1917. The Danish flag was lowered and the American flag was raised, and the date is observed each year as Transfer Day. St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, along with many small islands, then came under the control of the US Navy.

The idea of a territorial flag began under the naval governor Rear Admiral Sumner Kittelle, who took office in April 1921. The cartoonist Percival Wilson Sparks drew the design, and it was embroidered by his wife Grace and her sister Blanche Joseph. The flag was adopted on 17 May 1921. It has been in use ever since without a redesign. The islands remain an unincorporated, organized US territory, and the people are US citizens who elect a non-voting delegate to Congress but cannot vote in presidential elections while living there.

US Virgin Islands vs British Virgin Islands

The neighboring British Virgin Islands are a separate British territory with a different flag: a blue ensign with the Union Jack and a coat of arms. The two groups together make up the Virgin Islands archipelago. For the US flag itself, see the flag of the United States, and for more island flags see the North America flags page.