page_title: Matthew C. Perry
section_title: Perry's flag and legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Matthew C. Perry / Perry's flag and legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: US Naval Historical Center caption: Surrender of Japan, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945 The photo bore the subtext "Photo # USA C-2717 Gen. MacArthur speaking, 2 Sept. 1945" General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, reading his speech to open the surrender ceremonies, on board USS Missouri (BB-63). The representatives of the Allied Powers are behind him, including (from left to right): Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, RN, United Kingdom; Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko, Soviet Union; General Sir Thomas Blamey, Australia; Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canada; General Jacques LeClerc, France; Admiral Conrad E.L. Helfrich, The Netherlands and Air Vice Marshal Leonard M. Isitt, New Zealand. Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, U.S. Army, is just to the right of Air Vice Marshal Isitt. Off camera, to left, are the representative of China, General Hsu Yung-chang, and the U.S. representative, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN. Framed flag in upper left is that flown by Commodore Matthew C. Perry's flagship when she entered Tokyo Bay in 1853.
context_page_description: Matthew Calbraith Perry was a Commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.
  Perry was interested in the education of naval officers, and assisted in the development of an apprentice system that helped establish the curriculum at the United States Naval Academy. With the advent of the steam engine, he became a leading advocate of modernizing the U.S. Navy and came to be considered "The Father of the Steam Navy" in the United States.
context_section_description: A replica of Perry's US flag is on display on board the USS Missouri memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, attached to the bulkhead just inboard of the Japanese surrender signing site on the starboard side of the ship. The original flag was brought from the U.S. Naval Academy Museum to Japan for the Japan surrender ceremony and was displayed on that occasion at the request of Douglas MacArthur, who was himself a blood-relative of Perry. Photographs of the signing ceremony show that this flag was displayed properly as all flags on vessels (known as ensigns) on the starboard side are, with the stars in the upper right corner. The cloth of the historic flag was so fragile that the conservator at the Museum directed that a protective backing be sewn on it. Today, the flag is preserved and on display at the Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland.
  The pattern for the Union canton on this flag is different from the standard 31-star flag then in use. Perry's flag had columns of five stars save the last column which had six stars. Perry's US flag was unique when it was first flown in Tokyo Bay in 1853–1854. The replica of this historic flag on board the USS Missouri memorial is also placed in the same location on the bulkhead of the veranda deck where it had been initially mounted on the morning of September 2, 1945 by Chief Carpenter Fred Miletich.
caption: Perry's flag (upper left corner) was flown from Annapolis to Tokyo for display at the surrender ceremonies which officially ended World War II
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