Marine returns flag to Japanese family 73 years after Saipan battle

Bodhisattva

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Aug 22, 2001
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When Strombo handed the flag to Yasue's younger brother, 89-year-old Tatsuya Yasue buried his face in the flag, then took it to his older sister, now 95 years old and in a wheelchair, who did the same. Supported by her family members, she wiped away the tears.

.....

The day before Yasue was deployed, the 25-year-old sat on the grass with his family.

"Our brother whispered to us: It seems that they are sending me off to a remote island in the south ocean," Tatsuya Yasue recalled during the ceremony. "He said: 'I will probably not come back alive so please take care of our parents well.' "

That was the last word they heard from their brother — until Strombo arrived here Tuesday.

.....

Tatsuya Yasue will now take the flag to his parents' grave and show them that the flag has been returned. Then it will be passed down through the Yasue family, a reminder of the tragedy of war.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/milita...-japanese-soldiers-body-seventy-three/2333794
 

Tidewater

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Mar 15, 2003
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Noble gesture to the families of defeated foreign former enemies.

One wonders why the same nobility to the families of defeated former enemies who are now compatriots is seen in such a negative light.
 

92tide

TideFans Legend
May 9, 2000
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Noble gesture to the families of defeated foreign former enemies.

One wonders why the same nobility to the families of defeated former enemies who are now compatriots is seen in such a negative light.
part of it may have to do with the way the symbols of the defeated enemies have been used after the defeat.



vs

 

Bazza

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Oct 1, 2011
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Noble gesture to the families of defeated foreign former enemies.

One wonders why the same nobility to the families of defeated former enemies who are now compatriots is seen in such a negative light.
I can answer that question, Tidewater....

Simply put....there are too many who do not understand the concept of "honor".
 

GrayTide

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Nov 15, 2005
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Thanks Bodhi, very moving story. That war, like any war, is started by heads of state for whatever reason, but the pain and suffering is endured by the common soldier doing his duty and his loved ones at home. I realize sometimes war is unavoidable, but most wars make no sense and only lead to the deaths of millions of innocent non-combatants.
 

Tidewater

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Great story but I have to wonder what took so long.:conf2:
Heck, I knew WW II Pacific vets in the 1970s who said they would never buy a Japanese car, specifically because they hated Japanese for how they conducted themselves in the Pacific War. It's hard to fault them, even though I never want to surrender to hate. They probably saw some really bad stuff. Saipan was pretty awful. Not Iwo or Oki, maybe, but bad.
Maybe standing at death's door in his 90s, this man wanted to let go of something.
 

Crimson1967

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Nov 22, 2011
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Great story but I have to wonder what took so long.:conf2:
Maybe he just never thought about returning it. Also, it is only fairly recently that it was easy to track down a WWII soldier from Japan.


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day-day

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Jan 2, 2005
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The Marine said he made a promise to return the flag at the time he picked it up. Then had it on display for a long time. I wondered why it took so long as well but he said it was impossible to locate the family early on.

TW is right. We had a VP at a plant I worked at who would not allow us to purchase Japanese machines that were way better than some US machines after he fought with them in the Pacific.
 

Tide1986

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Nov 22, 2008
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Noble gesture to the families of defeated foreign former enemies.

One wonders why the same nobility to the families of defeated former enemies who are now compatriots is seen in such a negative light.
Strombo could have burned the flag given the so-called evil that it ultimately represents. Instead he found humanity. Interesting lesson for today.
 

TIDE-HSV

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Oct 13, 1999
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My older brother's BIL survived a Japanese prison camp. After hearing the horrors, it was a very long time before I would consider a Japanese car, much later than the general public. German behavior wasn't impeccable (neither was ours), but it didn't begin to match the Japanese. Also, we had an influx of Germans here 5-6 years after the War and they became human. The Japanese came much later. Ironically, there are now far more Japanese here than Germans...
 

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