Tim Kaine wore a 'blue star' pin at the vice presidential debate to honor his Marine son

'This storm will kill you': Tailbacks leave thousands in gridlock across the East Coast as two million are told to flee Hurricane Matthew as it kills 102 and stays on course to hit the US TODAY
Aerial footage shows Haiti villages leveled by Hurricane Matthew as death toll climbs to 102
MSNBC reporter under fire for claiming Obama's Paris climate change agreement is designed to STOP storms like Hurricane Matthew
Hurricane Matthew sparks travel chaos: More than 2,500 flights are cancelled, train service are suspended and streets are gridlocked as East Coast braces for 'direct hit'
Derrick Rose's ex-girlfriend sobs in court at start of $21.5million civil rape trial as lawyer describes how the NBA star and his two friends 'took turns raping her while she was unconscious'
'We've never seen anything like this': Mother's boyfriend, 32, is arrested for raping ten-month-old girl to death in horror basement attack that has left local police in shock
Clinton leads Trump by six points in survey - as polling average shows she is having strongest week ever
Is YOUR eye makeup making you uglier? The very specific colour code you should follow based on your feature's colour and shape
People are living 10 YEARS longer than ever before but spend more time suffering from illness in old age
Can YOU spot what's wrong in this photo of three girls on a bench? Once you see it, you'll wonder how you ever missed it
Treasure hunters say they are close to finding $60 BILLION Nazi treasure left behind by Hitler's forces as they fled Czech town in 1945
Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin is blamed for his own death as dealership which sold him the Jeep that killed him claims he 'misused' the vehicle
Is this a confession? Worker discovers creepy note admitting to MURDER in a hotel room
Revealed: The foods that are actually making you HUNGRIER - including super-fruit acai, salads and 'healthy' granola bars
Fox anchor Harris Faulkner settles $5million lawsuit against Hasbro over toy hamster she says was named after her and looked like her
Experts reveal the 10 lingerie mistakes we're ALL guilty of making - including owning just one bra size and keeping knickers for longer than a year
Is marijuana killing the planet? Energy consumption by cannabis farms may soon rival that of data centres
Mystery of Flight 455: Forty years on questions remain about whether the CIA was behind the bombing of a Cuban passenger jet in which 73 people died
US war hero Chuck Yeager blasts 'nasty, arrogant' Brits after being asked why he doesn't like them on social media
'Prison Houdini' serial escape artist who made 13 jailbreaks will be released almost FOUR DECADES after he was jailed for four years
Ash Carter's top aide spent $1,800 at a Rome strip club using his government credit card and visited South Korea's 'Hooker Hill' during official trips
Woman, 22, arrested for 'hitting cyclist while drunk, hours after proudly posting picture of new car to Instagram'
Working night shifts does NOT raise the risk of breast cancer: Women who do shifts are 'no more likely to get the disease than anyone else'
Haiti after the hurricane: 69 people killed in the Caribbean as thousands of homes are destroyed by Matthew which is now heading for Florida

Many viewers were confused about the single star pin Kaine wore
Some mistook it for flag of Japan or Honduras
The pin is worn by military families to honor active-duty service members
Kaine's eldest son Nat is currently deployed as a Marine
Pence's son is also a Marine officer currently in flight school

Published: 07:03 EST, 5 October 2016 | Updated: 12:40 EST, 5 October 2016

e-mail

View
comments

As Tim Kaine and Mike Pence battled it at out the vice presidential debate Tuesday night, viewers took to Twitter to voice their confusion at the Democratic running mate's unusual pin.

Some confused it with the flag of Japan, Honduras and even ISIS - but it's actually a 'blue star' pin to honor American servicemen.

Kaine's eldest son Nat, 26, is currently deployed as a Marine, something he touched on in the debate.

He is an active-duty 1st lieutenant who Kaine said earlier this year was deployed abroad 'in aid of NATO allies'. It is unclear exactly where.

Kaine's rival Mike Pence's son, Michael J. Pence, is also a Marine officer - a 2nd lieutenant who is currently training to become a pilot in the corps.

Scroll down for video

Tim Kaine wore a blue star pin to Tuesday night's debate to honor his eldest son Nat, who is an active-duty Marine

Star of the show: The blue star flag was created in 1917 for the parents of US servicemen

The blue star pin is worn by military family members to honor active-duty servicemen during times of war or hostilities.

The blue star flag was designed by World War I Army captain Robert L. Queisser in 1917 as a symbol for parents with deployed children. Queisser's own two sons served on the front line.

On duty: Nathaniel Kane was deployed to Tanzania in 2015 and met park rangers protecting wildlife there

Graduation: Mike Pence was with his son Michael as he graduated from officer candidate school before being commissioned as a Marine 2nd lieutenant in 2015.

The flag was adopted by the Department of Defense in 1947.

But it's apparently still uncommon enough that people unfamiliar with the pin ridiculed Kaine for it Tuesday night.

In a since-deleted tweet, the North Carolina GOP wrote: 'Tim Kaine wears a Honduras flag pin on his jacket but no American flag. Shameful.'

Other users clearly had never heard of the flag.

Twitter user Mike wrote: 'Does anyone else notice that Mike Pence is wearing an American flag pin on his suit and Tim Kaine of course is not? Wow, shameful?'

Another user, Pete, wrote: 'Time Kaine says that his party is for America first but he won't even wear a USA flag pin on his jacket at #VPDEbate.'