Does anyone know how to preserve/restore a WWII flag?

[SteveSS]

The only thing I know is what I've seen on Antiques Roadshow which isn't much. I knew my mom had this somewhere and she found the box. My uncle Ora, we always called him Ory was a SeaBee in the South Pacific. I know he was on Guadalcanal. In this box are two Japanese flags. One is quite large and looks to have been ripped from a flag pole. It's yellowed but otherwise okay.

The second is a soldier's flag. About 2.5 ft x 1.5 ft. It has Japanese characters around the red sun which have been translated on a separate piece of paper, mostly urging him to give his life for his country. This flag has little leather corners and since it has been folded for so long some of the leather has left brown stains. There are also little holes by the folds that might have been caused by insects. There's a picture of my uncle holding the big flag and his rifle. He's got his shirt off and he looks like a badass. I'll try to get some pictures.

I don't know where to start in conserving the flags and I thought someone here might know something about this.

 

[Rat Rod Al]

" He's got his shirt off and he looks like a badass."

Hell Man , He was a BADASS !
I think I would keep them as they are ! But what do I know !

 

[Sahara]

Yeah, keep them as they are.

 

[70chall440]

It somewhat depends on what your intentions are, meaning are you wanting to display them or just preserve and store them? If you are going to display them, they should be framed (which would not be cheap). If you are going to store them, they should be folded neatly and stored in a sealed bag, kept out of direct sunlight and someplace that is cool and dry.

 

[HD539]

I don’t know how to preserve or restore a flag but thought the story of your uncle is cool. My dad was on Guadalcanal also. He never talked about it but kept his uniform in perfect condition hidden away in his closet.

 

[GetX'd]

My dad was in the So Pacific in WWII and when he passed my mother was given the traditional American flag. But it was not properly folded - not wrong - just not right. I took it back with me to SoCal after a trip home for Christmas. It’s my Vietnam Vet brothers flag as the eldest. I promised him I would get it done right. This flag is not the kind you see these days or for many decades past. It’s made from cotton I think and is absolutely huge. Anyway to make a long story longer I called the Marine Base - Camp Pendleton which is right down the freeway from me. They were excited to take care of my dads flag for me. Invited me on the base and treated that flag like it was part of the Dead Sea scrolls. Ironed and folded over and over again until just perfect - I thanked them profusely and went home and shipped it back to MN for my brother to properly frame it in one of those triangle shaped flag frames.
Okay now that I’ve wasted your time with my story - my point was that I think you should get in touch with Personnel at Fort Carson, tell them what you have and seek their advice as to how to treat it. Yes it was the enemy but those guys get excited about dealing with things like that as they did with my dad’s flag. They should have good advice for you - give it a whirl you’ve everything to gain and nothing to lose.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Maybe look up the flag that flew over Ft. McHenry in 1812 and what have they they've done to preserve it. Its at the Smithsonian.

 

[BeepBeepRR]

 

[SteveSS]

Here's the flags. The big one we have is the one in the tree. Looks like he has a sword and a dog. The one with the natives is the shirtless one. I wonder what that pistol is?

 

[Sahara]

Now THAT is some cool family history.

 

[ruffcut]

You have some great stuff there! Thanks for sharing! Your uncle was a badass! For sure! ruffcut

 

[Moms68]

Its only original once, so any restoration could change that. I would think very hard before doing any work to them.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Hey-O]

My brother in law had the biggest collection of World War two German army artifacts outside of any museum in the world!! He was asked many times by several museums for the loan of his General Rommel's cotton battle flag. His answer was always no. The flag should not be exposed to any light was his answer every time. Takes the fun out of owning it, but that's a fact. This was 30 years ago, maybe things have changed. He had stuff they were standing in line for!

 

[66Satellite47]

The stories for WW II vets are fairly rare. My Dad was a bomber pilot, B-24's in the Pacific. He told me very few stories. One was about flying off Guadalcanal. As he was taking off, rifle shots off his windscreen, then his nose gunner opened up with his 50 cals, cut the palm tree and the Jap sniper down. Can't imagine how those guys did what they had to do. He only offered a few more stories, those are still amazing to me.

 

[Photon440]

My brother in law had the biggest collection of World War two German army artifacts outside of any museum in the world!! He was asked many times by several museums for the loan of his General Rommel's cotton battle flag. His answer was always no. The flag should not be exposed to any light was his answer every time. Takes the fun out of owning it, but that's a fact. This was 30 years ago, maybe things have changed. He had stuff they were standing in line for!

His concerns were valid, but there are protective covers such as Tru Vue Conservation UV Filter Glass that would allow displays without fear of light exposure.

 

[Hey-O]

His concerns were valid, but there are protective covers such as Tru Vue Conservation UV Filter Glass that would allow displays without fear of light exposure.

Things have changed, thank you.

 

[SteveSS]

He was a cool guy. He collected a lot of old coins and gold that has been passed down to me. He is the one that bought that 1982 Dodge Ram 50 pickup we have that's so nice.