what does this symbol mean?

US flag variants

What the American flag means flown upside down, at half-staff, folded, reversed on a sleeve or in black and green, and what the POW/MIA and thin blue line flags stand for.

Flag Code signals 3 symbols

Flags on uniforms 2 symbols

Flags flown with it 2 symbols

About uS flag variants

The American flag has one regular form and several variants that change what it says, and who defines the meaning differs from one to the next. Two are in federal law: the upside-down flag and the flag at half-staff are in the US Flag Code, Title 4 of the US Code, and the POW/MIA flag is designated in Title 36. Two are set by military uniform rules: the reversed flag on a right sleeve and the subdued flag worn in the field. And two have no official meaning at all: the 13 folds of the folded flag and the thin blue line flag. Each page says who holds which view.

What the Flag Code is

On June 22, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a joint resolution that wrote the existing customs for civilian display of the flag into law, the Congressional Research Service says. The Code is meant for civilian groups that don’t follow a government department’s own regulations. It prescribes no penalties and has no enforcement provisions, and courts have read it as declaratory and advisory.

Signals in the Code

Section 8(a) says the flag should not be flown with the union down “except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property”. Section 7(m) defines half-staff as halfway down the staff and says who may order it: the President on the death of principal figures of the US government, and a state’s governor for state officials, members of the armed forces and first responders from that state.

Flags on uniforms

The Code allows a flag patch on the uniforms of military personnel, firefighters, police officers and members of patriotic organizations. The Army wears it with the stars facing forward, so on the right sleeve the flag looks reversed, and its subdued version is green and black; the Air Force’s is spice brown.

Meanings with no law behind them

No federal law gives the folds of a folded flag a meaning, a National Cemetery Administration memo said in 2007, though families may ask for the 13-fold recitation at a funeral. The thin blue line flag is a private design: Thin Blue Line USA, founded by Andrew Jacob in 2014, claims the blue line on a flag.

Sources

  1. 4 U.S. Code § 8 - Respect for flag, 4 U.S.C. § 8, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, § 8(a) and (j)
  2. 4 U.S. Code § 7 - Position and manner of display, 4 U.S.C. § 7(m), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, § 7(m)
  3. 36 U.S. Code § 902 - National League of Families POW/MIA flag, 36 U.S.C. § 902, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, § 902(a)
  4. The United States Flag: Federal Law Relating to Display and Associated Questions, CRS Report RL30243 (John R. Luckey, February 7, 2011), Congressional Research Service (via EveryCRSReport.com), Introduction; Nature of the Flag Code
  5. DA Pamphlet 670-1, Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia, DA PAM 670-1, 26 January 2021, Headquarters, Department of the Army (Army Publishing Directorate), Para. 21-19
  6. Latest OCP guidance OKs current subdued patches, Air Force News Service, via Scott Air Force Base News, U.S. Air Force (Scott Air Force Base), Highlights from AFI 36-2903
  7. ‘13-Fold’ ceremony, other burial scripts approved, Air Force Print News, November 2, 2007 (Department of Veterans Affairs release), U.S. Air Force (af.mil), VA policy clarification
  8. Furor After Ceremonial Flag-Folding Readings Pulled From Military Funerals, Fox News, October 30, 2007 (with the Associated Press), Fox News, NCA memo
  9. What does the thin blue line flag mean?, Police1, Joel Shults (updated from October 26, 2020), Police1 (Lexipol), Origin

Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 10, 2026. How we research