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Show Page 18—THE HERALD. Provo, Utah, Monday Blood-Staine d Japan Flag Returnedto Soldier's Sister By PATRICK CHRISTIAN Herald Staff Writer Like so many other war souvenirs plucked by young soldiers, the bloodied World War II Japanese flag was really out of place in the Santaquin home But through theefforts of a former LDS Church missionaryto Japan, theeditor of a Japanese newspaperand luck or perhaps fate theold flag is back where it belongs after 36 years. = It was given to Masao Tanaka, a young Japanese graduate of the prestigious Doshisha University, in the early 1940s by fellow workers at the Japan Electric Power Company, Kansai, Japan Flags with the red rising sun were given to every draftee by friends as send-off presents. Each friend signed his name with a bamboo caligraphy brush. There were 50 signatures on Tanaka's flag In Mayof 1945 the 27-year-old Japanese leiutenant was killed in fierce cave-to- missionary in Japan and married a Japanaese girl. “My wife was working with a lady who mentioned that her hus band had a Japaneseflag and swords for sale he had captured on Okinawa,” Astle says The Santaquin man said he eventually went to the homeof VernonPrince to see the war souvenirs and bought theflag for $15 last fall. “Mywife hadaneerie feeling about the selling of the flag with the yellow stains, and we bought it with the idea of seeing if we couldn't return it to the original owner. He was posthumously promoted to captain, and the traditional wooden box for ashesof the deceased wasgivento his sole surviving family member, sister Isao Tanaka, The wooden box, however, was empty Like so many other Japanese war dead Tanaka's body could not be recovered for burning. Thesister's only memento of her brother was just an empty box. Bui on June 13, of this year Tanaka’s sister, Mrs. Isao Mizusawa received the flag her brother kept with him until the day he waskilledin action, a gift from a Santaquin man. MichaelJ. Astle of Santaquin had been a He and hiswifeleftit sitting around the house for a few months, then wrote to the editor of The Japan Timesin Tokyo asking if the Times could help in locating the original owneror relatives He sent a photographoftheflag with the signatures and Tanaka's nameonit. The strongest clue on the flag was the phrase in Japanese: ‘Personnel of the Procurement Section, Japan Electric Power Co.” Investigative work by Editor Kioyaki Murata and others discovered that the power company had been absorbed by Kansai Electric and that there was a man still there who had signed the flag The man, Tadashi Takenaka remembered only that there had been a man named Tanaka whowasa graduateof Doshisha University and wholeft the company when drafted Inquiries at the university showed him on thelist of deceased studentsofthe class of 1939 andlisted his hometown address A local officer of Kansai Electric sent a man to the address but even long-time neighbors knew nothing about Masao Payson Council Stresses Importance of Cleanups By OWEN W.LINDSAY Herald Correspondent PAYSON — Payson City Council members voted to send second notices to some Paysoncitizens regarding the beautification of their yards; discussed its Labor Day Marathon with representatives of Utah County; heard a report for a requestfor traffic lights at theintersections of Highway 91 and Main Utah Valiey Track Club'sparticipation. Councilman Brent Ashworth said he had contacted officials of District Six of the Utah State Highway Department who were examining the possibility of placing traffic lights at the intersec- tions of Highway 91 and Main Street and at Highway 91 and Utah Avenue. Ashworth said the Highway Department’s representatives indicated Street and Highway 91 and Utah Payson had only 70 warrant points of Avenue, as well as hearing about the 100 needed to getthe lights. Payson City Band’s summerschedule of concerts given by director Lewis Huff. Mayor Gary S. Hansenstressed that Payson City was taking a positive approachin dealing with citizens who had been asked to clean up their yards. He said thatthe city will help whereit can, but that workers could not go onto the property of private citizens and perform clean-up chores themselves. He said that the city's assistance would be given on a case-by-case basis and that fees at the city dump would be waived to allow numerous loads of trash to be hauled without costing for each separateload. Several church groups have volunteered to send workers to help citizens clean up their yards, Mayor Hansen said, as well as the Payson Jaycees. City administrator Norman Finlinson explained that letters had been sent to selected citizens asking that they clean up their yards. However, membersof the council pointed out, somecitizens hadfailed to respondatall, while other citizens had begun to comply with the city's wishes. In regard to the people who had decided to do nothing, the council voted to send out a second notice. Buss Whittaker, representing the Utah County Travel Council, and Pat Shane, a memberof the Utah Valley Track Club as well as being a track coach at Brigham Young University, discussed with the Council the possibility of Payson's movingits third annual Labor Day Marathon to Provo Canyon. » Former Mayor Howard Riley, Don Dixon, and Douglas Stevenson, representing Payson, declined, indicating that it was part of Payson’s Golden Onion Dayscelebration Riley said that the new course was much better than those used the last two years and asked that Shane consider running his Labor Day Marathon over Payson’s course in conjunction with Payson's marathon. No conclusion was reached However, Payson representatives Whenasked what Paysonhadto do to get the other 30 points, he was informed that more accidents at the intersections in question would provide the needed points. ‘‘I hope we don't haveto have a fatality just to get a traffic light,” Ashworth concluded. Band director Huff came before the councilto receive its compliments for a job well done. He reported that the PaysonCity Bandhasa lot of new tunes to perform at its weekly Sunday evening concerts in Payson Memorial Park. Hesaid he thought the band wasjust as good as those in bigger cities and that he was surprised to receive injuiries about the band from several different cities throughout the United Stat es. Anorganization called the Chatfield Brass Band of Minnesota sent him 45 new tunes, Huffsaid.‘All they wantin Teturn is for us to pay the return postage,” he said. Mayor Hansen and the Council agreed to pay the postage. Astle sent the flag to the Times, and a representative of the English language newspaper presentedit to Tanaka's sister Lookingat the flag with blood stains that have yellowed over the years, the sister murmured at the flag as if it were her brother saying, comeback “You really wanted to her brother was in the paymaster’s corps Shesaid that after the war an officer who had been with her brother visited, and reported that Lieutenant Tanaka waskilled by gunfire after he volunteered to go out of a cave on liaison mission. “WhenI read the storythe Timesdid on the return oftheflag, | was veryexcited, I can imagine how shefelt. My wife got tears in her eyes when she read what the soldier's sister said about the flag ‘coming back.” Price, the Santaquin man who had taken the souvenirs from the cave in Okinawa said, “‘I'm glad shegotit back. If I could have madeanysense of the writing and known who it belonged to, I would have given it to the sister.”’ Hesaid he hadfoundtheflag and other souvenirs in a cavejust south of Shuri Castle — a stronghold where Japanese Lt Gen. Ushijima and his men held out for two months. Japaneseflag was returned to homeland after 36 years here. “There were hospital beds and medical supplies in the cave and we guessed it must have been a field hospital," the World WarII veteran said United. € easy way (0 SanFrancisco. Mayor Hansen also said that he would like to sponsor the purchase of a wagonforthe bandto ride on. Huff said that if the band had such a wagon,it would gladly represent Payson in parades throughout Utah Valley during the summer season. In other businessthe council granted businesslicenses to Shirley and Monte Court to operate a commercial and residential cleaningservice out of their homeat 584 S. 700 W., Payson, and to a Payson woman to operate a retail businessselling handiwork and crafts from her home at 200 E. Utah Ave., Payson. bondto provideservices to a minor one way. sub-division by developer Carl Harris wasextended for one year. Harris had requested a three-year extension, but the council said that would be to cumbersomefor the purchasers of the lots. Harris is currently serving as a mission president for the LDS Church in American Samoa Mayor Hansen read a letter he proposed sending toDistrict Six, State Highway Department. asking that it create a commuterparking lot on its land at the intersection of I-15 and Stated that they would definitely run a Payson’s 800 South as well as a similar marathon in Payson withor withoutthe lot by Payson's Main Street and I-15. Post Office Encourages Use Of Changeof Address Cards Individuals moving to a new location and not submitting a changeof address card to the post office are adding a “hidden cost’ to their expenses, says the Postal Service. “Americans are receiving more mail, important mail, than at any time in postal histor’ says Provo Postmaster Stephan L, Johnson, “Yet. whenit comestimeto call the movers one of the most over-looked of all proceduresis notifying the proper parties of the change of address. “In addition to the personal expense and inconvenience to the homeowner and mailers, undeliverable-asaddressed mail has becomeoneof the hidden costs of mailing.” Johnson says the Postal Service spends about $500 million a year to handle an estimated 4.5 billion pieces of mail that is undeliverable. Eventually a check of government the address of a sister living in Yokohama Mrs. Mizusawa told the representative cave fighting during the three-month long battle for Okinawa Tanaka records ended the search and uncovered This is expense that ultimately ends up within the price of postage stamps and worse, it is necessary. Change of addressis a simple matter today.” The Postal Service is urging its customers to inform all carresandents promptlyof address changesat least 30 days before a scheduled move. The mailing service distributes 10to 16 milion changeof address kits each yearto make it easier tonotify cor respondents publishers, The primary strength of this ProgramIs that everyonebenefits from it,” Johnson says. “The family that is moving benefits because their mail continues toarrive promptly, stores and other business correspondents can avoid billing problems, and the Postal Service is able to process the mail more efficiently andatless cost.’ United's your ticket to San Francisco, Only $52 one way when you travel from June15 through July 14. You can choosefromthree convenient nonstops every business day. Including theearliest morning departurefrom Salt Lake City. The friendly skies have never been friendlier. Andthe wayto the Golden Gate has never been easier, With United's famous Friendship Service all along the way. Seats arelimited. For reservations, call your Tr avel Agent. Orcall United at 3: 28-8011 (TTY/TDD service for the hearing impaired, 800-: 23-0170). 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