[FLAGS - WORLD WAR II]. 48-Star American parade flag from the US Military convoy that entered Berlin at the end of World War II. 1945. 10 x 14 in. flag comprised of sewn satin stripes with 48 embroidered stars configured in 8/8/8/8/8/8 pattern (some scattered holes, largest hole to the right of the canton). A cotton sleeve is sewn on the hoist end, with an enclosed cord with end hooks. Professionally mounted using stitch on board. On 23 June 1945, a US military convoy entered Berlin to take control of the American sector of the city. In honor of the occasion, flags hand made in the nearby town of Halle were specially ordered for convoy vehicles. Colonel John J. McGinnis, a field officer with the Army’s military government operations, saved one of the flags as a souvenir of the historic event. He later bequeathed his flag to the National Museum of American History where it became part of the Smithsonian Institution exhibit July 1942: United We Stand, The Flag In World War II.This is another example of the original convoy flags that were among the first to enter Berlin following the end of the Second World War.This flag has been exhibited at several museums and is documented in the book The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit, Richard Pierce, LLC, 2005 (page 74).J. Richard Pierce Collection of American Parade Flags