A US flag recovered from the wreckage of the USS Arizona, one of the worst hit vessels at Pearl Harbor, has sold as top lot in Bonhams' inaugural World War II: The Pacific Theatre sale.
 The USS Arizona was the only ship not salvaged following the Pearl Harbor attack, and its position is marked today by the USS Arizona Memorial, which was unveiled in 1962 |
The flag made $170,500 to provide a fitting top lot of the February 22 sale in New York, as a relic from the event that saw the US join the Allied forces in the second world war.
The USS Arizona was one of the eight battleships bombed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, with 1,177 officers and crewmembers killed onboard. Unlike most of the other ships, Arizona was not salvaged, with the wreckage still lying at the bottom of Pearl Harbor.
The flag was recovered from the submerged flag locker after the attack and then presented to Mrs Isaac Kidd at her husband's funeral. Rear Admiral Kidd had been the highest ranking officer killed during the Pearl Harbor attack, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour, America's highest military accolade.
 There were actually two flag raisings on Mount Suribach, with the second made the most famous by Joe Rosenthal's photograph |
Bringing the second highest bids of the sale was a bronze edition of the Arlington Marine Corps Memorial maquette, which is one of between seven to 10 examples cast from the plaster original. Showing the iconic flag raising at Iwo Jima, the maquette sold for $56,250, as a reminder of what has become one of the most memorable moments of the second world war.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a superb selection of militaria for sale, including a Charles W Lindbergh autographed photo of the Iwo Jima flag raising and the personal photograph album of Sir Oliver Leese, commander of the Eighth Army.
