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Blessing: Upside down banner signals distress

Posted

This letter is in response to a letter (“Resident upset with inverted U.S. Flag,” Sun City West Independent, Jan. 27, 2021) relating to our flag being flown upside down.

It very well may be that the resident was in compliance with a long-time tradition of the sea. Almost all vessels will respond to a vessel in distress. The visual signal for a vessel in distress is a flag flown upside down.

Without disrespect to the flag, it may be that the resident was indicating his distress. There is a lot of that going around out there.

Wilfred Blessing

Captain, U.S. navy (ret.)
Sun City West