Navy News Stand
Conservation of Warship's Battle Flag Preserves World War II Memories
Story Number: NNS040616-08
Release Date: 6/17/2004 2:17:00 AM
By Max Uphaus, Naval Historical Center Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The flag of a distinguished World War II destroyer was conserved in May through the joint efforts of the Naval Historical Center (NHC), the Naval Historical Foundation (NHF) and an association of the vessel's veterans.
The Stillwater Textile Conservation Studio of Bradford, N.H., carried out the preservation of the 48-star national flag, which was flying from the bridge of USS Zellars (DD 777) when a Japanese kamikaze struck the ship April 2, 1945.
The cost of the project, which amounted to $2,700, was borne by the contingency fund of the USS Zellars Association, a group of about 600 of the ship's former crew members from all periods of its service, including about 30 active members who are veterans of World War II. The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from the veterans themselves.
"This was a gift from the veterans and us to the government," said Capt. Todd Creekman of the NHF, which, as a non-profit organization, served as an intermediary between the Association and the NHC.
The NHC Curator Branch coordinated the actual conservation work with Stillwater. "This was the first time in recent history that we've done a cooperative venture of this type," commented Karen France, a curator with the branch.
The flag entered the NHC's collection in 1997, where the Association eventually located it after a long search. The veterans borrowed it for their 2003 reunion in Tucson, Ariz., during which it was put on display and was used in a memorial ceremony. Because the flag was not then adequately preserved for long-term survival, having simply been sewn to a canvas backing and folded, the Association members voted to use their funds to finance a conservation effort.
At Stillwater, the canvas backing was removed and replaced with an aluminum mount covered with cotton fabric, the flag's ragged edge was lightly stitched to hold its yarns together, and the whole object was then framed and placed behind protective glass. According to the Association's express wishes, however, the flag was not cleaned, so as to preserve its residual traces of oil, smoke and blood.
"The condition of the flag was not changed by my treatment. Essentially, the flag was just protected from future damage," said Deborah Bede, principal of the studio. "It's a very evocative artifact because of the damage it sustained during the battle."
The veterans were very pleased with the conservation. "I was really, really impressed with the results," said Association Spokesman David Manning. The flag will remain in the NHC's collection, but will be available for use by the veterans.
Zellars was supporting the invasion of Okinawa in April 1945 when it was attacked by three kamikazes. Two crashed on the vessel's port side, one of which penetrated through the ship to explode close to the bridge, killing 64 crew members. Despite the extensive damage, the survivors not only kept fighting, downing eight Japanese planes, but also, in Manning's words, "pulled the ship back together and brought it back home." Zellars was refitted and went on to see more combat in the Korean War before it was decommissioned in 1971.
The veterans hope that the conserved flag will endure as a memorial for what they did simply in the fulfillment of their duty.
"There are sacrifices that people have made just in the normal course of life," said Manning, adding that such sacrifices are "what will keep us alive as a country and make us survive and grow." One Okinawa survivor experienced "a real sense of pride in feeling that someone had appreciated what they had done" when he saw the completed project, Manning stated. With its new lease on life, the flag, as Creekman emphasized, "will speak for [the veterans] long after they're gone."
040615-N-6236G-004 Washington, D.C. (Jun. 15, 2004) - Karen France, Curator with the Naval Historical Center (NHC), examines the World War II battle flag of the destroyer USS Zellars (DD 777) after its recent conservation. The flag, damaged during a 1945 kamikaze attack, was preserved through the efforts of the NHC, USS Zellars Association, and the Stillwater Textile Conservation Studio. Zellars saw combat service in both World War II and Korea, was attacked by three kamikazes during the Battle of Okinawa and suffered 64 killed when two hit the ship. The conservation of the flag was especially meaningful of the USS Zellars Association's thirty surviving World War II members. U.S. Navy photo (RELEASED)
- - - - - - - - - -
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
Zellars
Thomas Edward Zellars-born on 11 August 1898 in Grantville, Ga.-was appointed a midshipman at the Naval Academy on 13 June 1917 and graduated on 3 June 1920, a year early as the result of the wartime shortening of the Academy's course of instruction. On 9 July 1920, he reported for duty in Mississippi (Battleship No. 41). Zellars served his entire, brief Navy career in Mississippi, rising to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade) and attaining the position of turret commander in Mississippi's No. 2 14-inch turret. On 12 June 1924, while the battleship was engaged in gunnery practice off San Pedro, Calif., an explosion and fire engulfed his turret. Lt. (jg.) Zellars and 47 others were asphyxiated almost immediately but not before he turned on the flood valve which extinguished a burning powder train?an act which undoubtedly saved the ship and many of his shipmates from destruction.
(DD-777: dp. 2,200; l. 376'6"; b. 40'10"; dr. 15'8"; s. 34.2 k. (ti.); cpl. 345; a. 6 5", 12 40mm., 11 20mm., 10 21" tt., 6 dcp., 2 dct.; cl. Allen M. Sumner)
Zellars (DD-777) was laid down on 24 December 1943 at Seattle, Wash., by the Todd-Pacific Shipyards, Inc.; launched on 19 July 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Thomas M. Zellars; and commissioned on 25 October 1944, Comdr. Blinn Van Mater in command.
After six weeks of shakedown training out of San Diego, Calif., Zellars returned north to Bremerton, Wash., for post-shakedown availability. She spent Christmas 1944 in Bremerton but, soon thereafter, got underway for Pearl Harbor and the second phase of training preparatory to her entry into combat. That training lasted until mid-March 1945 at which time she put to sea with a portion of the Okinawa invasion force. She was assigned to Task Group (TG) 54.3, a part of Rear Admiral Morton L. Deyo's Gunfire and Covering Force built around the old battleships. Staged through Ulithi in the Western Carolines, Zellars and her consorts arrived in the Ryukyus on 25 March. For the next week, she joined the battleships and cruisers of TF 54, first in supporting the occupation of the roadstead at Kerama Retto and then in subjecting Okinawa itself to a systematic, long-duration, preinvasion bombardment. Because most of the targets on Okinawa were located well inland in accordance with Japan's relatively new strategy of defense in depth, Zellars' 5-inch guns usually deferred to the larger caliber batteries on board the battleships and cruisers while she provided them with antisubmarine and antiaircraft protection.
After the 1 April amphibious assault on Okinawa, she continued to screen the larger ships of TG 54.3 and provided call fire in support of the troops ashore. Her combat service, however, proved extremely short; less than a month, in fact.
On the afternoon of 2 April, she was screening Tennessee (BB-43) when three Japanese "Jills" made a coordinated attack on her. They came at the destroyer's port quarter from an altitude of about 15 feet above water. Zellars rang up 25 knots to unmask all batteries and opened fire. She splashed the lead attacker at a range of 1,800 yards and caught the second some 3,000 yards away. The destroyer then shifted fire to the third intruder and began scoring 40-millimeter hits on him. The Japanese pilot, however, pressed home his attack with fanatical courage and crashed into Zellar's port side, forward of the bridge in her number 2 handling room. His 500-kilogram bomb tore through several light bulkheads before exploding on the starboard side of the ship in the scullery. She temporarily lost all power, and the fireroom had to be secured. Meanwhile, the after 20-millimeter guns continued to ward off additional tormentors and assisted in splashing another plane. That evening, she limped into Kerama Retto with extensive damage. After temporary patching, the destroyer headed back toward the United States and arrived at Terminal Island, Calif., on 1 June.
