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WWII veteran, 93, brings back flag taken from enemy soldier

JANFU

JANFU

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WWII veteran, 93, brings back flag taken from enemy soldier

The young U.S. Marine, part of an elite scout-sniper platoon fighting a 1944 battle on Saipan, nervously scanned the terrain. He spotted a body on the ground, a dead Japanese soldier lying on his left side. The young man looked peaceful, as if asleep, and something white poked out from his jacket.

Strombo knelt and pulled out a silk flag, all the space around the bright red emperor’s sun filled with elegant calligraphy. He hesitated, then took the flag and scrambled to reunite with his squadron as they entered the Japanese-held town of Garapan.

More than 70 years later, Strombo is returning the Japanese flag to his fallen enemy’s family. The 93-year-old arrives Friday in Tokyo, the first stop in a 10,000-mile (16,000-kilometer) journey into the remote mountainside to bring the keepsake back to the man’s home village — back to a brother and two sisters who could never say goodbye.
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Thoughts on this pls?
 
Grand Mal said:
Good for him. A nice story. He'll probably get a good feeling from doing it.
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Yes, the war is over and a family know how their brother died.
 
JANFU said:
Yes, the war is over and a family know how their brother died.
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Good for him! I cannot imagine traveling to Japan at 93. Brothers in arms.
 
Lovely story. I like stories of former enemies in combat reuniting decades later in friendship. My guess is the Vietnam War is the last one we will see much of that from, though. Hard to imagine a US infantryman reuniting with an ISIS soldier 50 years from now to reminisce and joke. :)
 
War is hell.

It's not my place to question this warrior's lawful actions in relation to another warrior.
 
Maybe that'll inspire some soldier someplace to return the honjo masamune.


Lots of priceless family swords are still missing, but that one is the most famous.
 
Lutherf said:
Nice gesture!
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I think this is more than a gesture. Who knows what and I am speculating, demons he had to address from the war.
 
JANFU said:
WWII veteran, 93, brings back flag taken from enemy soldier


Thoughts on this pls?
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Well done, Marine.

Strombo had not only survived Saipan, but from the article, Tarawa, and Tinian as well....these battles are noted for some of the most brutal casualty rates in the Pacific theater.

I cannot imagine the conditions or mindset of these people at the time, but it goes without saying that there was a great deal of enmity between the US and Japanese armed forces....that it took Strombo this long to decide to return the flag is not surprising.

You simply cannot survive what these people did without a lot of lingering emotional scars; I hope Strombo and Yasue Sadao's family receive some measure of peace through this act.
 
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