The flag of

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Second ...

, a member of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

, closely resembles the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...

and was adopted in 1987. The flag is symbolic of the islanders' position that a great debt is still owed by the U.S. government to the people of Bikini because in 1954 the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

detonated the

Castle Bravo Castle Bravo was the first in a series of high-yield thermonuclear weapon design tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, as part of ''Operation Castle''. Detonated on March 1, 1954, the device was the most powerful ...

hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

on the island, poisoning islanders and others with

nuclear fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...

Design

The 23 white stars in the canton of the flag represent the 23 islands of

. The three black stars in the upper right represent the three islands that were obliterated in March 1954 during the 15-megaton Bravo test by the United States. The two black stars in the lower right corner represent where the Bikinians live now,

Kili Island Kili Island or Kili Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a small, () island located in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is the temporary home of 548 inhabitants who are descended from islanders who originally lived on Bikini Atoll. They were ...

, to the south of Bikini Atoll, and Ejit Island of

Majuro Atoll Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

. These two stars are symbolically far away from Bikini's stars on the flag as the islands are in real life (both in distance and quality of life). The

Marshallese language The Marshallese language ( mh, Kajin M̧ajeļ, link=no or ), also known as Ebon, is a Micronesian language spoken in the Marshall Islands. Spoken by the ethnic Marshallese people, the language is spoken by nearly the country's entire populatio ...

words on the flag, (modern spelling ), (which translates as "Everything is in the hands of God") was the reply Bikinian leader Juda gave to U.S. Commodore Ben Wyatt in 1946 when the American asked the islanders to give up their islands for "the good of mankind and to end all world wars."

Symbolism

The similarity to the American flag design and the striking isolation of the 3-star group and the 2-star group represent the position of the islanders that the Government of the United States still has obligations to their people, including reparations for the nuclear testing and resettlement of the Bikinians who were exiled.

References

External links

Anthem, Story, Interviews and the Flag of Bikini Atoll
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bikini Atoll Flags of the Marshall Islands Bikini Atoll