Use | Civil and state flag |
---|---|
Proportion | 2:3 |
Adopted | May 17, 1921 |
Design | A simplified version of the coat of arms of the United States between the letters V and I (for Virgin Islands). The yellow-colored eagle holds a sprig of laurel in one talon, and three arrows in the other. The blue color in the shield on the eagle's breast is the same color as that of the flag and shield of the United States. |
The flag of the United States Virgin Islands was adopted on May 17, 1921. It consists of a simplified version of the coat of arms of the United States between the letters V and I (for 'Virgin Islands'). The yellow-colored eagle holds a sprig of laurel in one talon,[1] which symbolizes victory, and three blue arrows in the other (unlike the thirteen arrows in the US coat of arms), which represent the three major islands that make up the U.S. Virgin Islands: Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, and Saint John.[2] When the Virgin Islands were owned by Denmark, the flag was a blue ensign with the Danish flag, or Dannebrog ('cloth of the Danes'), in the canton.