Adopted in 1921. The U.S. Virgin Islands flag consists of a white field with a modified US coat of arms in the center between the large blue initials V and I. The coat of arms shows a yellow eagle holding an olive branch in its right talon and three arrows in the left with a superimposed shield of seven red and six white vertical stripes below a blue panel; white is a symbol of purity, the letters stand for the Virgin Islands. The U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) are a group of islands in the Caribbean purchased from Denmark and organized as an unincorporated territory in 1917. Denmark had controlled the portions of the island group since 1672. The Territory was reorganized under 1936 and 1945 acts of Congress and is under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior. It has had an elected territorial governor since 1970.