Army Chaplain Charles �Harry� Washburn wanted a United States flag to display over a cemetery in Hamlein, Germany on the first Memorial Day following the surrender in Europe in 1945. However, there were no regimental sized flags readily available. So, Washburn commissioned a group of nuns to create an American flag. The flag was constructed from habits for the field of blue, muslin sheets for the stars and (against the nuns� wishes) red fabric from a Nazi banner. In exchange for their services, Chaplain Washburn paid the nuns 20 pounds of sugar and 50 pounds of white flour for their efforts.

Army Chaplain Charles �Harry� Washburn wanted a United States flag to display over a cemetery in Hamlein, Germany on the first Memorial Day following the surrender in Europe in 1945. However, there were no regimental sized flags readily available. So, Washburn commissioned a group of nuns to create an American flag. The flag was constructed from habits for the field of blue, muslin sheets for the stars and (against the nuns� wishes) red fabric from a Nazi banner. In exchange for their services, Chaplain Washburn paid the nuns 20 pounds of sugar and 50 pounds of white flour for their efforts.