Wartime heirloom returned to family

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Mike Cumberworth
  • 5th Air Force Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (AFPN) --  Sixty years of history came full circle this week when an airman here returned a Japanese flag to the family of its original owner. The flag was carried into battle by a Japanese soldier during World War II.

Col. Donald Weckhorst, commander of the 605th Air Operations Group at 5th Air Force headquarters, presented the flag to the wife and daughter of the soldier, along with a letter from the man who kept it safe as a historical artifact for decades after the war.

Carrying messages of good luck and hope for a safe return from war written by friends and relatives, the flag originally belonged to Mototeru Motegi, who was drafted into the Japanese imperial army in 1943. After traveling from island to island in the Pacific, Motegi survived the war and returned to Japan where he raised a family and worked as an accountant.

After the war, Motegi’s flag disappeared. The flag found its way to the Midwestern United States, where it became part of the personal collection of historical artifacts and wartime memorabilia of a young Missouri boy, John Pratt. After keeping the flag for many years, Pratt decided to search for the original owner and learn more about the flag’s origins. He contacted a local museum historian for assistance. He was Weckhorst’s father, retired Chief Master Sgt. Don Weckhorst.

“Mr. Pratt said he did not remember how or when he acquired the flag, but that he felt it was time to do something with it,” the colonel explained. “My father served in Japan in the 1950s and always expressed fond memories of his service. He suggested the best thing to do would be to find the family and return it to them.”

Japanese Master Sgt. Yoichi Akimoto, of the 5th Air Force liaison office, helped track down the owner’s family. Motegi died nearly five years ago, but his widow and daughter still live near Tokyo.

Reiko Motegi met with the colonel and brought yellowed snapshots of her husband.

“I believe this was taken the day he left for training, with his parents and grandmother,” she said of a photo.

Aunts, uncles, co-workers and the city mayor had all written words of encouragement around the Rising Sun at the center of the cotton flag.

“We recognize the flag as a symbol of honorable service to country,” the colonel wrote in a letter to the Motegis. “Mr. Pratt has had the flag for many years and has always treasured it as a historical keepsake. Now, we are very honored to return these national colors to their rightful place.”