How objects speak
2. American Flag
Medium: Canvas
Date: 1944
Credit line: Gift of Kiyoshi Tanahashi
Object ID: 94.14.2
This flag was presented to Kin Tanahashi, the mother of Second Lieutenant Kei Tanahashi, when his remains were returned to Los Angeles in the late 1940s. Kei, born and raised in Los Angeles, California, was incarcerated at Heart Mountain concentration camp in Wyoming during World War II. He was inducted into the army in 1943, and he served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Company G. Wounded in action on July 4, 1944, in Castellina, Italy, he died after insisting the medics treat other injured soldiers before him. In this case, the flag represents the death of a soldier, and according to military protocol, should remain folded, rather than unfurled and hung.