CHAMPAGNE VILLAGE —— A North County man's decision to return a Japanese flag he took as a battlefield souvenir during World War II has created a bridge of reconciliation between him and a former adversary.

After finding a Japanese soldier's personal flag on a South Pacific island, now-retired Marine Corps Sgt. Edward Catallo kept it for more than 60 years. But over time, the fierce animosity he felt toward Japanese soldiers faded and he became curious about the flag's original owner, he said.

The flag was returned to its first owner, Hideo Ishino of Nagano Prefecture, this February in a ceremony called "Bridge of Peace," Catallo said.

The ceremony brings closure after six decades, Catallo said Tuesday.

"Now people can see that the flag got back where it belongs and the gentleman is still living," he said.

Catallo got confirmation that the flag reached its original owner just after the Fourth of July, when he received a thank-you letter from the mayor of the village where Ishino lives.

The letter, from Mayor Hajime Nagaoka of Okuwa village, contained several pictures of the ceremony in which the mayor officially returned Ishino's flag.

Ishino "looks pretty good for being 90 years old," said Catallo, 82.

The flags Japanese soldiers carried were reminders of home as well as patriotic symbols. When a Japanese man was drafted during World War II, neighbors and family would wish him luck and sign their names to the flag. He would carry the folded flag under his uniform for good luck.

Ishino's son, granddaughter and friends who signed the flag, as well as about 100 students, attended the recent ceremony, which was covered by seven Japanese newspapers and three TV stations, the letter said.

"During the ceremony, we talked about the war to children so that we won't forget about it and won't repeat it," the mayor wrote.

Catallo had originally given the flag to his brother, Walter, also a Marine veteran, in upstate New York to give to a military history museum. His brother's daughter had asked a Japanese instructor at nearby Skidmore College to translate the words on the flag, which they had never been able to understand.

Learning the names written on the flag, Skidmore instructor Masako Inamoto contacted the Japanese government, which was able to find Ishino.

Catallo said he was surprised to learn that Ishino was alive, assuming the man had been killed in a battle on New Britain Island in 1943.

Catallo served in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, and was among the first American troops to land on Guadalcanal on Aug. 7, 1942. Hours after landing, Japanese guns sunk his troop ship, carrying all of his clothes, he said.

Later in the war, his division captured an airfield on New Britain Island at the very end of 1943 after a fierce firefight. Catallo found Ishino's flag in a backpack while on patrol, scouting for the enemy.

He retired from the Marine Corps as a sergeant major in 1968, and lived in Carlsbad and then Valley Center until 2003.

The Japanese government has been able to return some war artifacts to their original owners or their next of kin, an official at the Japanese Consulate in Los Angeles said.

If provided with photos or copies of the artifact, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare can investigate, but it can take several months, Vice Consul Tomonori Minowa said.

Catallo noted that some Americans buy and sell Japanese war artifacts on the Internet.

"I don't think it should be a souvenir," Catallo said. "I think it should go back where it belongs."

Contact staff writer Quinn Eastman at (760) 740-5412 or qeastman@nctimes.com.

For official inquiries about returning World War II-era artifacts:

Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles

350 S. Grand Ave. #1700

Los Angeles, CA 90071

Tel: (213) 617-6700

Web site: http://www.la.us.emb-japan.go.jp