“It’s called a good luck flag — every Japanese soldier carried one into battle, signed by family and friends in their village,” Stein said, noting that the flags were known in Japan as ...

TAKETA CITY, Japan — A U.S. Army colonel’s great-grandson returned a “good luck” flag Wednesday to the nephew of a Japanese soldier who carried it into battle during World War II.

After reaching out to an expert, he learned it was a yosegaki hinomaru—a Japanese good luck flag, signed by loved ones and carried into battle as a token of protection and support. Realizing the ...

Many Japanese soldiers carried their country’s flags inscribed with names and messages from loved ones for good luck, as Stars and Stripes noted. Stein was in the process of having the flag ...

“This flag has meaning," said Hiroko. "Everybody prays for their loved ones to come back from the battlefield." The couple found and received a Japanese good-luck flag from World War II in a ...

The flag, known as "Yosegaki Hinomaru," or Good Luck Flag, carries the soldier's ... to the descendants of Japanese servicemembers killed in the war. The search for the flag's original owner ...

Inscriptions on the flag include Japanese letters literally meaning "pray for long-lasting good fortune in battle" as well as the signatures of 167 individuals, believed to be related to a ...