WASILLA -- The Alaskan son of a decorated World War II veteran has reunited a flag with the family of a long-dead Japanese soldier who carried the flag into vicious combat on Iwo Jima.
Warren Keogh personally delivered the hand-lettered silk "good luck" flag to the family of soldier Matsukuma Torao last month on the Japanese island of Kyushu.
It was the first time Matsukuma's family touched the fabric of that flag since he brought it to the embattled South Pacific Island of Iwo Jima more than 70 years ago.
The occasion marked the culmination of a decadeslong process that started when Keogh's father, U.S. Army Sgt. James W. Keogh, brought home two captured Japanese flags bearing hand-written messages to Japanese soldiers.
Jim Keogh earned a Bronze Star in 1945 for his trips into the bunker tunnels of Iwo Jima. His son said it's not clear how the elder Keogh came to possess the flags, but his father was part of a unit that killed or captured numerous soldiers.
Jim Keogh died several years ago. Toward the end of his life, he made it clear he wanted the flags repatriated. Warren Keogh ended up enlisting the help of a trio of Colony High School Japanese scholars -- language instructor Shunji Ninoyu and two students -- as well as a Japanese newspaper reporter.
They tracked down relatives of one soldier and are still trying to track down the other. Keogh connected with Matsukuma's 76-year-old son late last year.
Keogh, a Chickaloon resident and Vietnam veteran who once served on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly, traveled last month to Japan with his 36-year-old son, Connor.
The solemn, moving flag repatriation ceremony took place at the home of the soldier's son. It was held on March 19 -- the same day that an annual gathering occurs on Iwo Jima to honor the memory of Japanese and American combatants who fought there.
About 25 family members gathered at the home, dressed formally, Keogh said this week. The ceremony started with prepared statements, then continued to a Buddhist memorial service with chanting and the passing of incense. Keogh then returned the flag, wrapped in local fabric and contained in a wooden box.
Keogh said his father would have appreciated the significance of the moment for both families.
"Here we were 71 years later in the home and birthplace of Matsukuma Torao," Keogh said." It was an extraordinary experience to say the least."
He's working with the president of the island's Iwo Jima association to find out what happened to Matsukuma. The soldier's family is staying connected after their meeting: Keogh said he received an 18-inch clay Samurai warrior doll in a glass case from them after he returned home to Alaska.