According to information supplied by the consignor, the two flags in this lot were originally part of the inventory of the USS Levy (DE-162) during World War II. A 1,620 ton Cannon-class destroyer escort commissioned in 1943, the Levy spent most of the war performing anti-submarine and anti-aircraft action in defense of the American logistics chain, while also participating in bombardment in the Marshall Islands. In August and September of 1945 the ship would be involved in the surrender of two Japanese occupied areas. The first would be the Mili Atoll on August 22nd, where Captain H.D. Grow of the Levy negotiated and settled the surrender itself, and the second would be Wake Island, where Levy transported USMC Brigadier General Sanderson to negotiate the surrender. After the war, Levy spent 2 years in reserve, and then was transferred to the Atlantic Inactive Fleet for a time, before being struck from the list and scrapped in 1974. Both Mili and Wake were used by the Japanese as airfields during World War II, Mili being a pre-World War II Japanese holding and Wake Island being American territory taken at great cost. The Mili Island surrender stands as one of the earliest formal surrenders at the end of the war, taking place on August 18th, three days after the Emperor's public announcement to the Japanese people and nearly 2 weeks before the official ceremony on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Both flags are constructed with 13 alternating red and white stripes and 48 white stars on a blue field, roughly 60 inches tall along the hoist and approximately 108-114 inches long. Both are marked on the obverse hoist with a black ink "USS LEVY" stamp, one bearing markings from the Valley Forge Flag Company and note "JAP SURR-WAKE I", the other marked as Sterling made with "JAP SURR-MILLE(sic)". Included with the flags are information about USS Levy and the flags, including a pair of inventory forms from the Heritage Foundation of Lexington, Massachusetts, stating the flags were donated in June of 1966 by one C.R. Rungee. Provenance: The Saloga Collection

Very good. Each flag shows minor wear and staining, but was generally well kept and cared for.