Original Item: Very Few Available. We are offering a small selection of original U.S. WWII Civil Defense pennant flags bearing the familiar red, white, and blue insignia of the wartime Office of Civilian Defense. Each is screen printed on light-colored fabric and measures approximately 16¼ x 16¼ inches, with a narrow reinforced header along the hoist edge for attachment or display.

The center of each pennant bears the official Civil Defense insignia consisting of the red letters CD within a white equilateral triangle superimposed on a blue circular field. This design was the official basic insignia of the wartime Office of Civilian Defense. OCD Regulations No. 2 described it as a white equilateral triangle on a circular blue field with the red letters CD centered within the triangle. The design had been formally protected under U.S. design patent D-129797, dated October 7, 1941.

The Office of Civilian Defense was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt under Executive Order 8757 on May 20, 1941, several months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It operated within the Office for Emergency Management of the Executive Office of the President and was initially headed by New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia. The organization was responsible for coordinating and encouraging civilian protective measures across the United States at a time when the possibility of direct attack on American communities was taken seriously. Local and state defense councils organized large numbers of volunteers for duties including air-raid warning, auxiliary firefighting, emergency medical services, rescue work, communications, blackout enforcement, and other protective functions.

The red, white, and blue CD emblem became one of the most recognizable symbols of the American wartime home front. A 1942 Office of Civilian Defense poster preserved by Penn State University shows the basic insignia together with a range of specialized Civil Defense service emblems used by individual volunteer organizations.

Pennants were specifically incorporated into the official Civil Defense identification system. Wartime OCD regulations prescribed emergency vehicle pennants for authorized vehicles operating during air-raid alarms. The official vehicle pattern was described as a white equilateral triangle with 18-inch sides, carrying the basic Civil Defense insignia at the center. It was to be mounted upright on the forward left side of the vehicle so that it could be seen from both directions without obstructing the driver's view.

A Civilian Defense manual likewise specifies that the basic insignia could be incorporated into an equilateral triangular emergency vehicle pennant, with the standard regulation size stated as 18 inches per side.

Conditions vary slightly from example to example. Each shows some age-related staining, handling wear, and minor discoloration, but the fabric remains substantially intact and the printed Civil Defense insignia remains strong and easily recognizable.

These pennants represent a particularly recognizable aspect of the American WWII home front. The official CD insignia, triangular format, compact dimensions, and surviving wartime fabric construction connect them directly with the vast Civil Defense program that mobilized civilian volunteers and emergency services throughout the United States during World War II. Get one before they’re gone!