DLA Troop Support embroiderers mark 250 years of American flag making at the Betsy Ross House

Two hand embroiderers from the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support’s Flag Room showcased the meticulous craft behind the presidential flag at the Betsy Ross House’s Flag Makers’ Hall on June 12, joining a weeklong celebration of the American flag.

The museum’s “Flag Fest” featured daily programs June 5–14 to mark National Flag Week, Flag Day and the semi-quincentennial of both the nation and the flag, according to the museum’s website. During the June 12 program, Duwenavue Sante Johnson and Helen Hua Nguyen engaged visitors and displayed examples of the Flag Room’s hand-embroidered work.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here,” Nguyen said. “The visitors are very nice, and they ask about the history.”

Johnson and Nguyen are part of a Flag Room team of nearly a dozen employees carrying forward a flag-making lineage that spans more than 150 years at DLA Troop Support. Johnson, who has spent 11 years in the Flag Room, trained internationally at the Royal School of Needlework in the United Kingdom and Ecole Lesage in Paris.

“Working at the Betsy Ross House during the 250th semi-quincentennial is a big honor for the DLA Flag Room to be able to present their mission in this new Flag Makers’ Hall,” Johnson said.

Nguyen has been with the team for seven years and learned hand embroidery and tailoring in Vietnam, making traditional clothing such as the áo dài after immigrating to the United States.

The Flag Room produces more than 350 types of flags annually for military customers and government agencies, including hand-embroidered presidential and vice-presidential flags for the White House.