# American flag patches on soldiers' uniforms **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-flag-patches-on-soldiers-uniforms/166648 "2003-04-05T06:30:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![habs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@habs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/habs)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-flag-patches-on-soldiers-uniforms/166648/1 "2003-04-05T06:30:04Z")
I was just wondering why those little American flag patches that are on the shoulders of the American army uniforms are inverted? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-flag-patches-on-soldiers-uniforms/166648/2 "2003-04-05T06:43:33Z")
You’re not the first to wonder this in the last week: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174576](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174576) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174423](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174423) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-flag-patches-on-soldiers-uniforms/166648/3 "2003-04-05T06:50:05Z")
One point to note is that the emblem/patch is a “flag replica” (having only one side) rather than an actual flag, so it is not specifically bound by the rules regarding the display of the flag.