It came as a surprise to young Navy officer Lt. John Bremyer on Aug. 23, 1945 that he was suddenly tasked with delivering a special American flag 9,000 miles away. After Japan expressed the desire to officially end World War II, Bremyer embarked upon a 124-hour journey to bring the flag to the ceremony of surrender.
Bremyer was working a normal day at his desk job at the Messenger Mail Center in the “Main Navy” complex in Washington, when he received unusual orders. A few days earlier, Fleet Adm. William Halsey had made plans to hold the official Japanese surrender onboard the battleship USS Missouri since the ship was the flagship of U.S. Pacific Third Fleet and it was named after President Harry Truman’s home state.
Halsey specifically requested that the Perry flag held at the Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland be used for the ceremony. The special old wool American flag was the only one that had flown over Japan nearly a century earlier when U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Perry sailed his ship into Edo Bay with the hopes of establishing trade with Japan for the first time in history.
The flag was quickly rushed to Bremyer’s post and without any prior notice he was ordered to promptly deliver the flag to Adm. Halsey, who was on the USS Missouri, in an unknown location headed to Tokyo Bay. Bremyer had no extra set of clothes, and he had a date with his love interest Jayne Dickey later that night. He also had no clue how he would get to the battleship.
Nevertheless, Bremyer had his roommate bring him a change of clothes, and he commenced on his journey. However, he tried unsuccessfully to get a hold of Dickey to cancel their date. After being stood up, Bremyer’s sweetheart thought she was abandoned.
Since Bremyer’s orders were to get to Adm. Halsey by any means possible, he jumped on several planes, sometimes riding on the floor of a cargo plane. During his journey, Bremyer had little to eat and barely any time to shave or shower. However, despite his hardships, Bremyer kept the precious flag by his side at all times.
Upon arriving in Guam, after traveling from San Francisco to Hawaii, Bremyer contemplated what to do next when he discovered that the USS Missouri was still in the ocean about 1,500 miles away. After hearing of a flight headed to the Japanese island of Iwo Jima the next day, Bremyer got some sleep and then continued his mission.
Once he arrived at Iwo Jima on Aug. 28, he was still unsure how he would get to the USS Missouri. He could have traveled to Japan on a destroyer ship, but that would take too long.
It was soon decided that Bremyer would hop on an amphibious patrol bomber aircraft that would drop him off right at the USS Missouri. As the seaplane landed in the Sagami Bay, a powerful wave tore away a chunk of the plane’s tail. A boat from the USS Missouri was dispatched to pick him up, and despite the rough waters, Bremyer was able to board and hand off the flag to one of Adm. Halsey’s aide.
Bremyer attended the ceremony that brought an end to the war and since the flag was too worn to be flown, it was hung from a bulkhead in a glass case during the historic moment. His sweetheart, Dickey, had no clue what happened to him until she heard the broadcast of the WWII surrender. The two ended up marrying shortly after Bremyer returned.
