Here's the flag (*update - better photo of the flag and turned it right-side-up):
So my grandfather Bill (who passed away over a decade ago) served with the US Army in the Pacific theater of WW2, specifically in the infantry. He took part in several battles, one of which was The Battle of Attu. The date my grandfather wrote in the bottom-right of the flag, May 11th, 1943, was the first day of the battle (it would last for another 20 days). He eventually managed to mail it home to my grandma, which is how we ended up with it.
My uncle, who was the one who has been holding onto the flag since my grandpa passed and just yesterday passed it down to me, didn't know much about it, nor exactly how my grandfather acquired it. Though I think it's pretty safe to assume he looted it off of a dead Japanese soldier - which, yeah, would be a war crime (*edit - though for all my family knows he could have traded another soldier for it, or won it in a game cards, we simply have no idea). That actually brings me to my first question...
After some quick research, it looks as though it may very-well be a Good Luck Flag. If that's the case, I'm really hoping there's some way of identifying who the original owner was. Is there any form of identification of the Japanese soldier who originally carried it written on here somewhere? His name? His rank?
Because thing is, as unique and interesting of a family keepsake as this is, if there was any way I could find out the name of the soldier who carried it, and whether or not he has any living family or descendants, I would very much like to give it back to them if it's even remotely possible. But hey, with the power of the internet, crazier things have happened.
I greatly appreciate any and all help those of you who can read Japanese can provide!
So my grandfather Bill (who passed away over a decade ago) served with the US Army in the Pacific theater of WW2, specifically in the infantry. He took part in several battles, one of which was The Battle of Attu. The date my grandfather wrote in the bottom-right of the flag, May 11th, 1943, was the first day of the battle (it would last for another 20 days). He eventually managed to mail it home to my grandma, which is how we ended up with it.
My uncle, who was the one who has been holding onto the flag since my grandpa passed and just yesterday passed it down to me, didn't know much about it, nor exactly how my grandfather acquired it. Though I think it's pretty safe to assume he looted it off of a dead Japanese soldier - which, yeah, would be a war crime (*edit - though for all my family knows he could have traded another soldier for it, or won it in a game cards, we simply have no idea). That actually brings me to my first question...
After some quick research, it looks as though it may very-well be a Good Luck Flag. If that's the case, I'm really hoping there's some way of identifying who the original owner was. Is there any form of identification of the Japanese soldier who originally carried it written on here somewhere? His name? His rank?
Because thing is, as unique and interesting of a family keepsake as this is, if there was any way I could find out the name of the soldier who carried it, and whether or not he has any living family or descendants, I would very much like to give it back to them if it's even remotely possible. But hey, with the power of the internet, crazier things have happened.
I greatly appreciate any and all help those of you who can read Japanese can provide!
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