Japanese Flag from WWII to be Donated to National Park Service

Date: October 12, 2016
Contact: Rebecca Schwab, 603-545-1029

Honolulu – A hand-sewn Japanese flag that once flew over the ship where Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto gave the order to attack Pearl Harbor will be donated to WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument on Thursday, October 13.

The presentation will take place at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM and be attended by the monument's Superintendent Jacqueline Ashwell and other park staff. The press is welcome to attend the ceremony.

The Japanese Battleship Nagato served as Adm. Yamamoto's flagship during the Pearl Harbor attack. After the Nagato surrendered in the Tokyo Bay area in August 1945, US sailors from nearby ships boarded the Nagato and were allowed to remove key pieces of memorabilia.

US Navy seaman Robert Hartman found the Nagato's flag. Over the years, the wool red and white flag became a familiar item to his family, sometimes even used as a blanket on cold winter nights. Following Hartman's death in 1999, the flag was passed on to his daughter Dianne Hall, who has traveled from North Carolina to present the flag to the National Park Service.

For more information, please visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/ValorNPS and our website at www.nps.gov/valr.