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Posted on 4/13/18 at 11:51 am
Posted on 4/13/18 at 11:51 am
We all cant be Pavaloco and be part of Auburn history but got a pretty cool story to tell
My grand father was in Pearl Harbor when it was attacked and when the war came to an end. Unlike me, my grandfather was a quiet man but did tell me a few stories about that time frame when he was alive and I was smart enough at my young age to listen. He mostly talked about how horrific it was when the attack happened and how bad he felt for everyone involved in the US armed forces as well as what eventually happened in Japan afterwards
Right about time the Japanese surrendered, the battle ship Nagato was captured and brought into Pearl Harbor and docked. It was a very important ship in the attacks and he talked about how beaten and bruised it was. He said it was amazing that it could actually float
The second night the battle ship was in port, he snuck aboard during the night and took the flag. Talked about how nervous he was and that he thought 100 times about it before he took off to the ship.
The Flag has been in my family since and to be honest, its kinda a spooky thing to me. The picture does not do it justice. My dad and mom took that picture before it was put back in storage. The flag looks in better shape than it is.
Anyway, a pretty cool thing and I am not sure I would have had the balls to do it.
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My grand father was in Pearl Harbor when it was attacked and when the war came to an end. Unlike me, my grandfather was a quiet man but did tell me a few stories about that time frame when he was alive and I was smart enough at my young age to listen. He mostly talked about how horrific it was when the attack happened and how bad he felt for everyone involved in the US armed forces as well as what eventually happened in Japan afterwards
Right about time the Japanese surrendered, the battle ship Nagato was captured and brought into Pearl Harbor and docked. It was a very important ship in the attacks and he talked about how beaten and bruised it was. He said it was amazing that it could actually float
The second night the battle ship was in port, he snuck aboard during the night and took the flag. Talked about how nervous he was and that he thought 100 times about it before he took off to the ship.
The Flag has been in my family since and to be honest, its kinda a spooky thing to me. The picture does not do it justice. My dad and mom took that picture before it was put back in storage. The flag looks in better shape than it is.
Anyway, a pretty cool thing and I am not sure I would have had the balls to do it.
[/img] [/img] This post was edited on 4/13/18 at 11:55 am
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Posted on 4/13/18 at 12:12 pm to LanierSpots
That is pretty cool. Dude had some gonads to do that.
Shouldn't that read Taken like a Boss from the battleship Nagato by Alpha H.L. Coleman?
Don't be surprised when Navy Intelligence shows up at your door now.
Shouldn't that read Taken like a Boss from the battleship Nagato by Alpha H.L. Coleman?
Don't be surprised when Navy Intelligence shows up at your door now.
Posted on 4/13/18 at 12:22 pm to RockyMtnTigerWDE
quote:
Don't be surprised when Navy Intelligence shows up at your door now.
LOL. My father has done numerous interviews with the Smithsonian and other "Government" affiliations. Its no secret.
This post was edited on 4/13/18 at 1:32 pm
Posted on 4/13/18 at 12:47 pm to LanierSpots
quote:
Its not secret.
Posted on 4/13/18 at 12:54 pm to LanierSpots
Awesome. My grandfather was stationed at Hickam Field during Pearl Harbor.
Posted on 4/13/18 at 2:09 pm to LanierSpots
That's awesome. All of my uncles who served never talked about it and I was too young to ever try and get anything out of them before they died. My grandfather was in the Pacific near the end of the war. Thankfully he never had to see combat but still saw a lot of things he won't talk about.
Posted on 4/13/18 at 2:27 pm to LanierSpots
Very cool story. But are you sure your Gramps didn't get mixed up where the Nagato was when he went aboard and "acquired" the flag? Because after the war the Nagato was only in three places, Yokasuka (Japan), Eniwetak (Marshall Islands), and Bikini Atoll (Marshall Islands) where she was nuked. It was in such bad shape in Japan when the war ended that it only made it halfway to Bikini before it broke down and tugs had to come get it and tow it to Eniwetak (where it was band-aid repaired and eventually made it to Bikini).
(Nagato, foreground left.)
Plus, bringing a Japanese ship (especially a battleship) with Japanese sailors on it to Pearl Harbor immediately after the war... probably wouldn't have been a very good idea.
(Nagato, foreground left.)
Plus, bringing a Japanese ship (especially a battleship) with Japanese sailors on it to Pearl Harbor immediately after the war... probably wouldn't have been a very good idea.
This post was edited on 4/13/18 at 2:28 pm
Posted on 4/13/18 at 2:33 pm to beatbammer
Yea. I did some research a few years back and read the description you posted on Wiki... I had discussed with my dad, since my grandfather had passed, and he was very sure of the story.
The ship was eventually retrofitted. I am pretty sure I read where a few different Japanese "ships" that were captured were brought into Pearl after they were captured. From what I remember his telling, there were no soldiers on the ship then. It was abandoned after it was captured. He mentioned it would hardly float.
The ship was eventually retrofitted. I am pretty sure I read where a few different Japanese "ships" that were captured were brought into Pearl after they were captured. From what I remember his telling, there were no soldiers on the ship then. It was abandoned after it was captured. He mentioned it would hardly float.
Posted on 4/13/18 at 3:04 pm to LanierSpots
Cool story. I never went into the service (my dad didn't want me too and I didn't want it either), but my dad, grandad, and great grandad served.
Dad was army. Special forces, green beret for 25 years. Was in combat in Vietnam and Panama. We didn't official have operations in Panama I don't think, but he was in combat there, before I was born.
Granddad was in the navy. Was deployed but did not see combat in WWII.
Great grandad was in the army and got mustard gassed in the battle of the Argon forest in WWI. BS trench warfare garbage.
Dad was army. Special forces, green beret for 25 years. Was in combat in Vietnam and Panama. We didn't official have operations in Panama I don't think, but he was in combat there, before I was born.
Granddad was in the navy. Was deployed but did not see combat in WWII.
Great grandad was in the army and got mustard gassed in the battle of the Argon forest in WWI. BS trench warfare garbage.
Posted on 4/13/18 at 3:25 pm to LanierSpots
Pavoloco endorses this post. 
Posted on 4/13/18 at 4:59 pm to LanierSpots
Just got home, I wasn't able to see the pics you posted on my work computer.
If the date on that flag is accurate, 8/29/1945, it was taken from the Nagato while the Nagato was in Japan.
Japan hadn't even signed the surrender documents on 8/29/1945 (those were signed on the battleship Missouri on 9/2/1945). There isn't a snowball's chance in heck that a Japanese battleship was sitting in Pearl Harbor before the war was officially over.
This article has a historical record of the Nagato's ships movements:
https://www.combinedfleet.com/nagatrom.htm
And this article is a history of the Nagato's last year:
https://www.combinedfleet.com/picposts/Nagatostory.html
So your Gramps had to have gotten it in Yokasuka. And he was quick on the draw too, because other people came behind him to get them a flag too.
https://spratlyschara.de/random/us-returns-battleship-flag-donned-by-nagato-to-japan-after-years-of-storage/
https://donmooreswartales.com/2012/11/26/george-mcneill/
https://www.hookelenews.com/world-war-ii-imperial-japanese-navy-flag-returns-to-pearl-harbor/
If the date on that flag is accurate, 8/29/1945, it was taken from the Nagato while the Nagato was in Japan.
Japan hadn't even signed the surrender documents on 8/29/1945 (those were signed on the battleship Missouri on 9/2/1945). There isn't a snowball's chance in heck that a Japanese battleship was sitting in Pearl Harbor before the war was officially over.
This article has a historical record of the Nagato's ships movements:
https://www.combinedfleet.com/nagatrom.htm
quote:
15 August 1945:
At noon, Admiral Ikeuchi assembles the whole crew on afterdeck to listen to the Emperor's radio transmission of his Imperial Rescript that calls for an end to hosilities.
20-30 August 1945:
Yokosuka. Captain Sugino arrives and assumes command. Soon thereafter, NAGATO is relocated to No. 1 buoy in Yokosuka's harbor.
29 August 1945:
USS MISSOURI (BB-63) and IOWA (BB-61) and numerous minesweepers and destroyers enter Tokyo Bay and anchor at Yokosuka. IOWA serves as flagship of Admiral (later Fleet Admiral) William F. Halsey's (former CO of SARATOGA, CV-3) Third Fleet.
30 August 1945:
At 1030, USS SAN DIEGO (CL-53) ties up at the Yokosuka Naval Base's waterfront. Rear Admiral (later Admiral/CNO) Robert B. Carney (former CO of REID (DD-369), Chief of Staff, Third Fleet, Rear Admiral (later Admiral) Oscar C. Badger II (MOH '14/former CO of NORTH CAROLINA, BB-55), Commander Tokyo Bay Occupation Force and Marine Brigadier General William T. Clement, Commander Fleet Landing Force, disembark ashore. Vice Admiral Totsuka Michitaro (former CO of CA NACHI), Commander, Yokosuka Naval District, then surrenders the facility to Admiral Carney.
A party of men from Task Force 31's ships board and secure NAGATO anchored in Yokosuka. The "capture" of NAGATO symbolizes the unconditional surrender of the IJN.
2 September 1945:
The official surrender of the Japanese Empire is held aboard MISSOURI. The ceremonies are presided over by the Supreme Commander Allied Powers, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, CINCPOA, signs the surrender document on behalf of the United States.
Other Allied battleships present in Tokyo Bay include Admiral Nimitz' flagship USS SOUTH DAKOTA (BB-57), the Pearl Harbor veteran WEST VIRGINIA (BB-48) and old battleships NEW MEXICO (BB-40), MISSISSIPPI (BB-41), IDAHO (BB-42), COLORADO (BB-45). HMS KING GEORGE V and DUKE OF YORK, sisters of PRINCE OF WALES, sunk off Malaya on 10 December 1941, are also in attendance.
15 September 1945:
Removed from the Navy List.
30 December 1945:
At Yokosuka. USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) anchors a few hundred yards off NAGATO.
1-14 March 1946:
NAGATO makes three test runs in Tokyo Bay.
18 March 1946:
NAGATO departs Yokosuka for Eniwetok under the command of Captain W. J. Whipple with a US Navy crew of about 180 men. She is accompanied by relatively new (1944) light cruiser SAKAWA, also under an American crew. Only two of NAGATO's four screws are in operation and her best speed is but 10 knots.
26 March 1946:
NAGATO's hull proves unseaworthy because damage resulting from near misses received during the air raid on 18 July was never repaired by the Japanese, nor the Americans. Her pumps cannot keep up with the intake of seawater. NAGATO ships about 150 tons of seawater in the forward compartments. The stern compartments have to be counter-flooded with 260 tons of water to maintain the balance.
28 March 1946:
The SAKAWA breaks down and goes dead in the water. NAGATO sets a tow-line to SAKAWA, but then NAGATO blows out a boiler, and runs out of fuel. Both ships are stopped in bad weather. NAGATO's crew radioes to Eniwetok for help.
30 March 1946:
Two USN tugboats arrive from Eniwetok. NAGATO is taken in tow by USS CLAMP (ARS-33). Without power or pumps NAGATO takes on more water and a seven degree list to port. NAGATO is towed at 1 knot.
4 April 1946:
Arrives at Eniwetok where the flooded compartments are pumped out. Undergoes repairs to hull and machinery.
May 1946:
Steams at 13 knots for 200 miles to Bikini Atoll.
1 July 1946: Operation Crossroads:
At Bikini. NAGATO and SAKAWA are target ships in the atomic bomb air burst detonation test "Able"organized by the USAAF . NAGATO is joined by the American target battleships ARKANSAS (BB-33), NEW YORK (BB-34), NEVADA (BB-36), PENNSYLVANIA (BB-38) and other ships. NAGATO is moored 400 yards to the starboard of NEVADA, the target ship for the test. The bomb misses NEVADA. NAGATO, 1,640 yards from Ground Zero, sustains only moderate damage - wrinkled superstructure plating, non-watertight doors blown off and overall paint scorching, but SAKAWA capsizes and sinks the next day.
And this article is a history of the Nagato's last year:
https://www.combinedfleet.com/picposts/Nagatostory.html
So your Gramps had to have gotten it in Yokasuka. And he was quick on the draw too, because other people came behind him to get them a flag too.
https://spratlyschara.de/random/us-returns-battleship-flag-donned-by-nagato-to-japan-after-years-of-storage/
quote:
A US association has returned the naval flag of a battleship commanded by a prominent Japanese naval officer during World War Two.
The president and chief executive officer of the USS Missouri Memorial Association in Hawaii handed the flag to the head of a Japanese museum on Friday, October 5.
The ensign measures 2.6 meters by 4 meters and belonged to the battleship Nagato of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Navy.
https://donmooreswartales.com/2012/11/26/george-mcneill/
quote:
Members of the crew of the battleship USS South Dakota hold a Japanese battle flag during a reunion at the Super Dome in New Orleans on Oct. 17, 2004. George McNeill is second from the left. Former President George Bush kneels in front with Saint’s owner Tom Benson to his left. The flag was taken by a south Dakota crew member from the Battleship Nagato at the surrender ceremony on Sept. 2, 1945. The Nagato was Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto’s flagship when he commanded the attack on Pearl Harbor.
https://www.hookelenews.com/world-war-ii-imperial-japanese-navy-flag-returns-to-pearl-harbor/
quote:
An Imperial Japanese Navy flag recovered from the Battleship Nagato by a Sailor assigned to USS Horace A. Bass (APD 124) in 1945 was donated to the National Park Service on Oct. 13 at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.
Nagato was the flagship of Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The flag was donated by Dianne Hall and her siblings Betty Jo Eller, Sherry Bryant, Robert D. Hartman Jr. and Wanda Morris. The flag was given to Hall by her mother in memory of her father, Robert Hartman Sr., a WWII Navy ship’s cook aboard USS Horace A. Bass and later a U.S. Army mess sergeant, after he passed away.
Posted on 4/13/18 at 5:27 pm to beatbammer
Thats a cool arse flag. Who did the silver script writing on the flag? It looks awesome but I wonder about defacing the value of the historical item? Anyway its your families now. 
Posted on 4/13/18 at 5:42 pm to Pavoloco83
Big ships had to have big-arse flags or else they'd get lost in the rigging and equipment.
Edit: If you've ever seen or been on the USS Alabama down in Mobile Bay, the IJN Nagato was comparable to the size of the Alabama.
Edit2: Ships also had/have to have LOTS of flags because flags wear out quick in the harsh conditions and constant wind.
Edit: If you've ever seen or been on the USS Alabama down in Mobile Bay, the IJN Nagato was comparable to the size of the Alabama.
Edit2: Ships also had/have to have LOTS of flags because flags wear out quick in the harsh conditions and constant wind.
This post was edited on 4/13/18 at 5:50 pm
Posted on 4/13/18 at 7:07 pm to LanierSpots
Awesome thread
Posted on 4/15/18 at 6:53 pm to LanierSpots
Cool story. That is a treasure.
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