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Surrender Leaflet? (Literally)


Steindaddie
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Steindaddie

I found this stuck in a book from a veteran of the 11th Air Force in the Aleutians and am wondering if it is a propaganda leaflet. The veteran died in 1961, so I asked his family about this leaf and they said it was kept because their dad told them it was "dropped by the Japanese on Dutch Harbor" That doesn't make sense to me, given the fact the leaflet is not in English.

It's about 5x5 inches. Anyone have a clue on this?

 

~Will

post-1949-1302672750.jpg

post-1949-1302672759.jpg

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Jeffrey Magut
I found this stuck in a book from a veteran of the 11th Air Force in the Aleutians and am wondering if it is a propaganda leaflet. The veteran died in 1961, so I asked his family about this leaf and they said it was kept because their dad told them it was "dropped by the Japanese on Dutch Harbor" That doesn't make sense to me, given the fact the leaflet is not in English.

It's about 5x5 inches. Anyone have a clue on this?

 

~Will

 

As often happens, the veteran's family has the basic remembrance of the story right, but the crucial detail wrong. It is a propaganda leaflet that was dropped in the Aleutian Campaign, but one dropped by US forces on the Japanese. It is the Kiri Leaf, an omen of misfortune to the Japanese.

 

60,000 of these were dropped over Attu and Kiska before troops landed on Attu in May 1943. A translation from The Forgotten War, Vol. II, p. 219:

 

The Kiri Leaf Falls. Its fall is the ill omen of the inevitable downfall of militarism. With the fall of one Kiri Leaf comes sadness and bad luck.

 

(Reverse side): Before Fall comes, the raining bombs of America, just like Kiri Leaves fluttering to the ground, will bring sad fate and misfortune.

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Steindaddie
As often happens, the veteran's family.......

Good call. Yes, I think we've all heard a few "family versions" of a vets contributions to the war effort!

 

All you guys, thanks for all the input.

 

~Will

 

PS. My first photos don't illustrate the fact this leaflet is literally shaped like a leaf. Here's a better shot:

post-1949-1302705622.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

I've got one of those that my Dad picked up on Kiska during Operation COTTAGE. As most know, the Japanese had evacuated more than two weeks before the Allied invasion, leaving only a couple dogs behind. An Air Force pilot who was among those dispersing the leaflets later said, "We dropped thousands of those leaflets on Kiska, but the dogs couldn't read."

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