For 73 years, a veteran of the Second world war, a former marine from Oregon, Marvin, Strombo, kept a silk flag, which he took from dead Japanese soldier during the battle on the island of Saipan in 1944.
Then many of the soldiers did so – took a «war Souvenirs», but now Marvin was prepared to undertake a journey of 10 thousand miles from Portland to Japan to return the flag to the family of the deceased. In this he was helped by a public organization Obon.
According to the Associated Press, the organization Obon deals with the fact that returns to the families of dead Japanese soldiers with their flags. The flag, which turned out to be Marvin, Strombo, as it turned out, belonged to the Yasui, Sadao, a soldier from a small mountain village 200 miles West of Tokyo.
«He was young, I noticed that when I bent over it. He was lying on his back, apparently died after a mortar attack,» — said Marvin.
The flag, which he found is called «hinomaru yosegaki» flag luck. This is a traditional Japanese flag, but with the addition of the signatures of family members and friends. These often gave Japanese soldiers going to war.
On the flag Yasui, Sadao – more than 180 signatures of his relatives and friends, including my brother and my two sisters, Marvin, Strombo and return the flag for 15 August.
«This will give them the opportunity, finally, to know where and how you killed their brother,» said Marvin.
