1067. DOUGLAS MACARTHUR'S JAPANESE FLAG A fine relic from MacArthur's tenure as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in Japan, a cotton Japanese "meatball" flag, 15 1/2" x 12 1/2" with string attachments coming from reinforcements at two corners. On one side the flag bears three black ink stamps reading "ARMS DEPOT" in Japanese, with other stamps relating to the name "Misawa" or "Mizawa" and making reference to a police force. This flag was given by MacArthur to his personal secretary, Florence Varney, who served MacArthur during his chairmanship of Remington Rand for ten years until her resignation in 1961. It was obtained directly by our consignor from Mrs. Varney and is accompanied by a copy of MacArthur's letter of thanks to her for her service to MacArthur. While any further information about the flag is unavailable, we do know that in 1950 MacArthur ordered the establishment of a "National Police Reserve" of 75,000 to "fill the gap" created by the dispatch of American forces to Korea with the outbreak of the Korean War. This flag may have been from one of the first such police units organized in Japan, in essence the first Japanese "army" unit in the country since Japan's surrender in 1945. This would explain MacArthur having kept an otherwise routine flag. Typical soiling and a few spots, otherwise very good. $2,000 - 3,000