![]() The official Red Cross emblem was designed as the inverse of the Swiss flag, in honor of Dunant’s Swiss citizenship (Figure 3B). This work, in conjunction with Dunant’s tireless advocacy, inspired the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863. He wrote a book entitled “ Un Souvenir de Solférino” which described the aftermath of the battle and the suffering of the wounded soldiers deprived of medical care. While touring the battlefield, Dunant observed more than 40,000 dead and wounded soldiers. More than 300,000 troops fought this monumental battle in a single day, which resulted in the defeat of the Austrian Army by an alliance of French and Sardinian troops. He accidentally witnessed the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino, a small town south to the Lake of Garda, in the evening of J(Figure 5). Clearly, the purpose of this article is not meant to be condescending or indoctrinating, but rather aimed at shedding some light on the interesting historic background on the origin of the Swiss flag and Red Cross, and to potentially clarify a widespread misperception.ĭuring the summer of 1859, the Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant traveled to Northern Italy on a business trip. This most recent anecdotal episode set the incentive for the drafting of this editorial. However, I was recently stunned to notice that the new Emergency Room of our own University Hospital in Colorado is also “misbranded” with the Swiss cross (Figure 2). In general, I would deem such a trivial oversight as unworthy of a formal correction. This misconception appears to be increasingly prevalent throughout the United States. The root cause is likely attributed to an unintentional mix-up of the Swiss flag with the Red Cross emblem. ![]() Indeed, I encounter the Swiss flag regularly in football stadiums, ballparks, and concert arenas, owing to the unequivocal earmarking of first aid stations and first aid responders at popular venues (Figure 1). As a dual Swiss-US citizen, I have been astonished for many years about the sheer quantity of Swiss National flags decorating the United States.
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