Original Item: One-of-a-kind. Just purchased from a Pacific War collector at a military show, an incredible piece of history! Technician fifth grade Oscar Whitton was part of the U.S. 6th Army's 382nd Coastal Artillery, serving in New Guinea during 1944. He found this Japanese flag in bunker they had used, and then personalized it and brought it home. The flag is made of cotton, and measures 19" x 28, with a small header and hanging rope at the top. Whitton personalized it below some Japanese text at the top:

In the center of the flag it is further marked with:

Below this it is also marked New Guinea Campaign.

Aside from the lovely USGI personalization, this flag is of a type that we have not really seen before. It is definitely Japanese, as the markings on it are partially in the Japanese phonetic alphabet. The portion that we can translate reads 日本 カーボン, which reads Nippon (Japan) KA A BO N, or Nippon Carbon. The insignia in the flag is the correct one for the Nippon Carbon Co, first established in 1915. We can only assume that a Japanese soldier stationed in New Guinea had worked there, and brought the flag as a memento. We cannot read the other 5 Kanji unfortunately, but this would be a great translation and research project for the motivated collector. Condition is very good, with just a few small holes, and not much fading or age toning.

A phenomenal collector's item, with loads of research potential! Ready to display!

The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea (23 January) and the Australian Territory of Papua (21 July) and overran western New Guinea (beginning 29/30 March), which was a part of the Netherlands East Indies. During the second phase, lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender, the Allies—consisting primarily of Australian forces—cleared the Japanese first from Papua, then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony.

The campaign resulted in a crushing defeat and heavy losses for the Empire of Japan. As in most Pacific War campaigns, disease and starvation claimed more Japanese lives than enemy action. Most Japanese troops never even came into contact with Allied forces, and were instead simply cut off and subjected to an effective blockade by Allied naval forces. Garrisons were effectively besieged and denied shipments of food and medical supplies, and as a result, some claim that 97% of Japanese deaths in this campaign were from non-combat causes.

According to John Laffin, the campaign "was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II".