Tricolor Protects you in the Sea
Visitors have a unique opportunity to see the original flag of the first Lithuanian warship „President Smetona“. This tricolored flag is one of the very few military flags that were not captured by the Soviet occupants. Treated as an important symbol of Lithuanian independence, it was saved by the officers of the warship.
Lithuanian navy was founded during the interwar period on August 1st, 1935 and contained only one ship: a minesweeper „President Smetona“. It was the very same ship where, on August 26th of the same year, the Lithuanian navy flag was raised for the first time. During the Soviet occupation, in July 1940, it was demanded that the Lithuanian tricolor would be changed into a red one. The warship‘s officers Vytautas Kuizinas, Ričardas Bernardas Nakas and captain Povilas Labanauskas managed to escape with the flag in a small yacht. The flag was later held by the captain Povilas Labanauskas. After fifty years the flag settled in the hands of a military artifacts collector Henry Gaidys, who was born in a Lithuanian immigrant family in Baltimore. He kindly lended the flag for one year as a gift to commemorate the centenary of independent Lithuania. In 2017, after more than 80 years, the flag returned to its harbor.
Visitors of the exhibition „Lithuanian tricolor protects you in the sea“ will be able to see the original flag, a model of the ship “President Smetona” and find unique photos from different periods. The exhibition also invites to listen to the prayer of the war ship‘s crew, which was said every time while raising and lowering the flag. The exhibition itself encourages a dialogue with the visitors: what does the Lithuanian tricolor mean to them? Recorded visitors’ ideas and thoughts become an integral part of the exhibition.
The exhibition to the Center of Civil Education was brought from the Lithuanian Sea museum.
