{"id":32236,"date":"2019-02-26T14:24:42","date_gmt":"2019-02-26T14:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:19:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:19:54","slug":"airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/","title":{"rendered":"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An airman traveled to Japan to personally return a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/10\/04\/south-korea-renews-call-for-japan-to-remove-rising-sun-flag\/\" target=\"_blank\">Japanese battle flag<\/a> that was captured by his grandfather during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/05\/25\/discovery-of-world-war-ii-soldiers-plane-brings-closure\/\" target=\"_blank\">World War II<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senior Master Sgt. William Lowell Armstrong, a flight superintendent stationed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/15\/north-korea-threatens-to-cancel-summit-over-us-south-korea-military-exercises-news-report-says\/\" target=_blank>Kunsan Air Base, South Korea<\/a>, returned his grandfather\u2019s war trophy to the Gunma Gokoku Shrine, which honors deceased veterans, in Takasaki, Japan, on Feb. 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His grandfather, Cpl. Lowell Armstrong, gained possession of the flag while serving in Japan during the war, according to a U.S. Pacific Air Forces <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacaf.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/1763862\/kunsan-airman-first-us-active-duty-grandson-to-return-japanese-battle-flag\/\" target=_blank>news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am truly grateful that my grandfather kept the flag safe and in great condition all those years and my family decided to return it to its rightful owners, as we know how much it means to the family,\u201d Armstrong said in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacaf.af.mil\/News\/Article-Display\/Article\/1763862\/kunsan-airman-first-us-active-duty-grandson-to-return-japanese-battle-flag\/\" target=_blank>release<\/a>. \u201cMy grandfather would be happy that this flag is being returned to its home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The captured flag was known as a \u201cGood Luck Flag\u201d among the Japanese. The flag is typically signed by a service member\u2019s loved ones and presented to them prior to entry into the military or before a deployment, according to the PACAF release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of the ceremony, Armstrong put on a pair of white gloves, unfolded the well-maintained flag and presented it to the relatives of Masashi Ito, the Japanese soldier who originally owned it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was a great surprise to have it returned like this out of millions of those that died,\u201d Michio Miki, one of Ito\u2019s nephews, said in the release. \u201cI am thankful for the thoughtfulness of Mr. Armstrong\u2019s grandson to return it like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Armstrong\u2019s grandfather never disclosed how he came to own the flag, as he never spoke about his time serving in the Pacific theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1307\" height=\"721\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7e9a9a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7e9a9a.jpg 1307w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7e9a9a.jpg?resize=300,165 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7e9a9a.jpg?resize=768,424 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7e9a9a.jpg?resize=1024,565 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1307px) 100vw, 1307px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. William Armstrong, 8th Logistics Readiness Squadron deployment and distribution flight superintendent, (left), hands a Japanese flag to Michio Miki (middle) and Hideo Ito, Masashi Ito\u2019s nephews, during a flag return ceremony in Takasaki, Japan, Feb. 14, 2019. Armstrong\u2019s grandfather acquired Miki and Ito\u2019s uncle\u2019s flag during World War II. (Courtesy photo, Obon Society)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Armstrong only learned of the flag\u2019s existence roughly two and a half years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His uncle came to own the flag after his grandfather passed away, and reached out to the Obon Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to returning Good Luck Flags to the family members of the original owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the group, Armstrong is the first active-duty grandson to participate in one of the flag repatriation ceremonies, the PACAF release read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to represent my family at the event,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cMy father, uncle and aunt regret they are unable to attend, however, I am honored to represent my family in this return ceremony. I was named after my grandfather and I am proud to carry his namesake. He was one of the kindest, hardworking men anyone would ever meet. He would do anything for anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An airman traveled to Japan to personally return a Japanese battle flag that was captured by his grandfather during World War II.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":34372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":15,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[15,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3406],"class_list":["post-32236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"4WYAYRMJFRFJBPLGEHVHFPJLL4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An airman traveled to Japan to personally return a Japanese battle flag that was captured by his grandfather during World War II.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An airman traveled to Japan to personally return a Japanese battle flag that was captured by his grandfather during World War II.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-26T14:24:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T20:19:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kyle Rempfer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kyle Rempfer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-02-26T14:24:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T20:19:54+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 501,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Your Military\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag - Military Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-02-26T14:24:42+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T20:19:54+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"An airman traveled to Japan to personally return a Japanese battle flag that was captured by his grandfather during World War II.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/26\\\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Military Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News About Your Military | Military Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Military Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/military-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/military-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Military Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag - Military Times","description":"An airman traveled to Japan to personally return a Japanese battle flag that was captured by his grandfather during World War II.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag","og_description":"An airman traveled to Japan to personally return a Japanese battle flag that was captured by his grandfather during World War II.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/","og_site_name":"Military Times","article_published_time":"2019-02-26T14:24:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-07T20:19:54+00:00","author":"Kyle Rempfer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kyle Rempfer","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag","datePublished":"2019-02-26T14:24:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T20:19:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/"},"wordCount":501,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg","articleSection":["News","Your Military"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/","name":"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag - Military Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg","datePublished":"2019-02-26T14:24:42+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-07T20:19:54+00:00","description":"An airman traveled to Japan to personally return a Japanese battle flag that was captured by his grandfather during World War II.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/02\/26\/airman-returns-grandfathers-captured-japanese-battle-flag\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Airman returns grandfather\u2019s captured Japanese battle flag"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","name":"Military Times","description":"Independent News About Your Military | Military Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization","name":"Military Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/military-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/military-logo-white.png","caption":"Military Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Military Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Capture.JPG_7b857c.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32237,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32236\/revisions\/32237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32236"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=32236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}