Soldier’s flag returns to Japan

Some 70 years ago a Japanese soldier set out to war with a folded-up flag signed by friends and family who probably expected never to see it — or him — again.

But now it’s on its way home.

On Friday, Rear Adm. James F. Caldwell, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine forces, turned over the flag to the Consulate General of Japan in Hono­lulu.

"It’s meaningful to Japan and it’s meaningful to the town, and it’s meaningful to that family, and I’d like them to have it," Caldwell said during a small ceremony held at the Japa­nese Consulate on Nuuanu Avenue.

Caldwell, who was recently nominated by the Pentagon to become the Navy’s inspector general in Washington, D.C., came to possess the flag when his great-uncle, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Jay V. Chase, died in Washington state in 2000.

"Unfortunately, I do not know where he got the flag, and it’s possible that he may not have been the original holder of the flag," he said. "I happen to have had two great-uncles that served in WWII, as well as my grandfather. … I believe it could have been obtained by any one of those gentlemen."

Caldwell said he never had the chance to speak with his great-uncle about the flag because it was passed along to him by his cousins, who found it in Chase’s possessions when he died.

"I wish I knew more about it, and I’ve always wondered, you know, who it belonged to," he said. "And I think it’s important to return it to Japan."

The consul general of Japan in Hono­lulu, Toyoei Shi­ge­eda, said during the ceremony that he had a hard time expressing how he felt when he first encountered the flag.

"I like to extend my heartfelt thanks," he said to Caldwell. "This is more than a returning of the flag; it’s a returning of the spirit to Japan."

Shigeeda said he also sees the flag as a token of respect and expression of friendship between Japan and the U.S.

"Once, we fought with each other, and soon we became the best friends in the world," he said. "The returning of this Japa­nese flag is a token of our everlasting friendship and strong relations."

Caldwell agreed. "It’s remarkable to think about the relationship that existed when this flag was flying as compared today," he said. "It’s incredible."

Consul for Defense Affairs Take­shi Ogino, 37, said he has never seen a flag like the one returned that had been sent to war with a soldier.

"This is not usual to see this kind of flag because these flags didn’t come back to Japan so much," he said.

Ogino explained that the flag will be sent to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which manages a database of wartime soldiers, people who died in the war and people who received veteran pensions, and will work on contacting family members of the soldier.

Written on the flag is the soldier’s name, along with the town he was from, the name of the mayor of the town and several well wishes from family and friends.

Ogino said it was customary for a soldier to be presented with such a flag at a farewell gathering before he deployed. He said the town named on the flag no longer exists, but that it is believed to be in Shi­zu­oka prefecture, south of the center of the country and now called Nishi-Izucho.

Caldwell’s wife, Kim, and Shi­ge­eda’s wife, Michiko, became emotional during the ceremony.

"I’m just happy for the family," Kim Caldwell said. "I hope that they’ll be at peace. I’m not sad to give it up at all."

Kim Caldwell said she and her husband occasionally showed the flag to friends who were history buffs but that it wasn’t something they ever displayed.

"We didn’t really understand what it was at all when we got it, and it wasn’t until we were posted at another duty station and friends of ours that had been stationed in Japan actually took it with them back to Japan for translation. … That’s I think when we sort of started thinking, ‘This is not something (we should have),’" she said.

Caldwell said he was inspired to return the flag earlier this month by a newspaper article that featured a similar flag being returned to Japan from a mainland resident.

"I’ve always thought that it didn’t belong with me and that it rightfully belonged either to the town or the family," he said.

His wife agreed. "Things happen sometimes, I really believe, for a reason," she said.

"The article, the timing of it put it on our radar … so I think it just maybe wasn’t ready to go home until now."