American flag on shoulder?

[Walt's Daughter]

This letter was posted to me by my friend Eric Remy:

 

 

"Bonjour Marion, comment vas-tu? Pourrais-tu me dire pourquoi les soldats américains portent le drapeau américain sur l'épaule droite de leurs vêtements "à l'envers". Merci pour ta réponse. Bon week- end. Bien cordialement."

Translated it means:

 

Hello Marion, how are you doing? Could you tell me why the American soldiers wear the American flag on the upright shoulder of their clothing "upside down"? Thank you for your response. Have a good weekend. Cordially, Eric

 

This is the response I sent:

 

Flag patches worn on the left shoulder feature the canton facing correctly toward the left. Army regulations mandate that the flag patches are to be worn so "that to observers, it looks as if the flag is flying against a breeze."

 

The arrangement is in deference to standard bearers, or the soldiers who would carry the flag into battle. In a forward charge, the canton would always be facing forward. And the military is always in forward charge -- hence, the right flag patch appears backwards.