PHOTO FEATURE
ONLINE PHOTO FEATURE, WW2
THE NAMES ON THE FLAG
From the Taro Leaf, Spring 2017
In 1999, Debbie Anthony’s husband, Cliff, was given an old Japanese flag, dating back to World War II, that contained the signatures of 189 U.S. soldiers. The soldiers who signed that flag were from the 24th Infantry Division.
Anthony’s husband was delivering auto parts to a garage in Limestone, NY, when he first came across the flag. The garage owner, while talking to Anthony’s husband, started to rip up a box of rags. At the bottom of the box was a 3 ½ foot by 5 ½ foot Japanese flag.
The garage owner unfolded the flag and asked if anyone wanted it. If not, he was going to burn it. Anthony’s husband rescued the flag before it went into the fire. That was just the beginning of the flag’s long journey from the Philippine Islands back to the soldiers who signed it.
The veterans who signed the flag were all from the 34th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division. It is unknown exactly when or where they signed it. Most of the men were from I Company, some were from K and C Companies.
The flag originated in the Philippines then traveled to Japan. According to Anthony, this is proven by the fact that some men who signed the flag were stationed only in the Philippines, some were in both the Philippines and Japan, and some were stationed only in Japan. Copies of discharge papers and family records help prove this theory. How and when the flag got to the United States is still unknown.
All this information is thanks to the efforts of Debbie Anthony, who decided in 2014 to track down the families of the 189 soldiers who originally signed the flag. As of this story’s writing (April, 2017), Anthony has located 177 of the 189 families.
“My daughter and I wrote all the names and addresses that were on the flag, taking close-up pictures of each,” Anthony explained. “The more pictures I took, the more connected I felt and the more I knew that these men and their families needed to be found.”
There are a total of 189 soldiers’ names on the flag. Some have complete addresses, some have just names. To make things more interesting, Anthony learned that some addresses were for a soldier’s hometown, while other addresses were where a solider enlisted.
In 1999, Debbie Anthony’s husband, Cliff, was given an old Japanese flag, dating back to World War II, that contained the signatures of 189 U.S. soldiers. The soldiers who signed that flag were from the 24th Infantry Division.
Anthony’s husband was delivering auto parts to a garage in Limestone, NY, when he first came across the flag. The garage owner, while talking to Anthony’s husband, started to rip up a box of rags. At the bottom of the box was a 3 ½ foot by 5 ½ foot Japanese flag.
The garage owner unfolded the flag and asked if anyone wanted it. If not, he was going to burn it. Anthony’s husband rescued the flag before it went into the fire. That was just the beginning of the flag’s long journey from the Philippine Islands back to the soldiers who signed it.
The veterans who signed the flag were all from the 34th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division. It is unknown exactly when or where they signed it. Most of the men were from I Company, some were from K and C Companies.
The flag originated in the Philippines then traveled to Japan. According to Anthony, this is proven by the fact that some men who signed the flag were stationed only in the Philippines, some were in both the Philippines and Japan, and some were stationed only in Japan. Copies of discharge papers and family records help prove this theory. How and when the flag got to the United States is still unknown.
All this information is thanks to the efforts of Debbie Anthony, who decided in 2014 to track down the families of the 189 soldiers who originally signed the flag. As of this story’s writing (April, 2017), Anthony has located 177 of the 189 families.
“My daughter and I wrote all the names and addresses that were on the flag, taking close-up pictures of each,” Anthony explained. “The more pictures I took, the more connected I felt and the more I knew that these men and their families needed to be found.”
There are a total of 189 soldiers’ names on the flag. Some have complete addresses, some have just names. To make things more interesting, Anthony learned that some addresses were for a soldier’s hometown, while other addresses were where a solider enlisted.
24th ID veteran Clifford Jackola gets an up close look at the "Names on the Flag."
Anthony and her daughter first did an alphabetical order search. But many of the names were common, like Jones and Smith, and that made searching difficult. So they changed tactics and looked for the more unique names on the flag.
“Some days a name just pops out at you and you think this is the day I will find this man and their family,” said Anthony. “Some days we found as many as three or four families, some days we found none.”
With the help of a few military sites, internet searches, online phone records, ancestry.com, newspapers.com and other sources, Anthony located 167 families in her first 17 months of searching. Thirteen veterans were found alive.
In speaking to the WWII vets that were still alive, Anthony explained they all said they signed many flags. Two of the living men recalled possibly signing this flag along with other Japanese flags during the war.
Anthony found that many families had smaller flags signed by both Japanese and US service men. When the Japanese soldiers went into battle, they carried a small flag in their breast pocket that was usually written with well wishes from their families. Many Americans took the flags as spoils of war.
But Anthony has done more than just find the “names” on the flag; she has worked to reunite the flag with the soldiers who originally signed it, as well as their families. The flag has been put on “tour,” traveling across the country, passing from family to family.
“It’s been blessed in churches, it’s been in a couple of VA centers, it’s been in a VA hospital, and at family reunions, and at weddings, and every place in between,” said Anthony when asked about where her historic flag has been.
One of the people that Anthony contacted about the flag was Case VanderMaas. His father-in-law was one of the soldiers who originally signed the flag.
“She called us on the phone and asked if we were relatives of Gerald Idema. From there she told us what she had found, how it came to be. And from there, it just kind of snowballed down,” said VanderMaas. ”My father-in-law never once spoke of the war. To get him to talk about it was very, very difficult. Never, once, did he say anything about signing any flag. To be able to see that flag, and to touch it and to see where he signed it - it brings back a lot of memories.”
When families receive the flag, they keep it for a couple of weeks and then send it off to the next family on the list. VanderMaas said that passing it along is a bittersweet thought.
“I understand it’s been around to about 50-plus families already, and so we’ve had our turn and let’s let somebody else have their turn,” VanderMaas said. “Just to see a piece of history like that - not many people get that chance, and it’s a good reminder that freedom isn’t free.”
Information provided by Debbie Anthony
Email: debbie1670101@gmail,com
https://thenamesontheflag.wordpress.com/
www.facebook.com/The-Names-on-the-Flag-301833906686472/
“Some days a name just pops out at you and you think this is the day I will find this man and their family,” said Anthony. “Some days we found as many as three or four families, some days we found none.”
With the help of a few military sites, internet searches, online phone records, ancestry.com, newspapers.com and other sources, Anthony located 167 families in her first 17 months of searching. Thirteen veterans were found alive.
In speaking to the WWII vets that were still alive, Anthony explained they all said they signed many flags. Two of the living men recalled possibly signing this flag along with other Japanese flags during the war.
Anthony found that many families had smaller flags signed by both Japanese and US service men. When the Japanese soldiers went into battle, they carried a small flag in their breast pocket that was usually written with well wishes from their families. Many Americans took the flags as spoils of war.
But Anthony has done more than just find the “names” on the flag; she has worked to reunite the flag with the soldiers who originally signed it, as well as their families. The flag has been put on “tour,” traveling across the country, passing from family to family.
“It’s been blessed in churches, it’s been in a couple of VA centers, it’s been in a VA hospital, and at family reunions, and at weddings, and every place in between,” said Anthony when asked about where her historic flag has been.
One of the people that Anthony contacted about the flag was Case VanderMaas. His father-in-law was one of the soldiers who originally signed the flag.
“She called us on the phone and asked if we were relatives of Gerald Idema. From there she told us what she had found, how it came to be. And from there, it just kind of snowballed down,” said VanderMaas. ”My father-in-law never once spoke of the war. To get him to talk about it was very, very difficult. Never, once, did he say anything about signing any flag. To be able to see that flag, and to touch it and to see where he signed it - it brings back a lot of memories.”
When families receive the flag, they keep it for a couple of weeks and then send it off to the next family on the list. VanderMaas said that passing it along is a bittersweet thought.
“I understand it’s been around to about 50-plus families already, and so we’ve had our turn and let’s let somebody else have their turn,” VanderMaas said. “Just to see a piece of history like that - not many people get that chance, and it’s a good reminder that freedom isn’t free.”
Information provided by Debbie Anthony
Email: debbie1670101@gmail,com
https://thenamesontheflag.wordpress.com/
www.facebook.com/The-Names-on-the-Flag-301833906686472/