Australian Political and Patriotic Memorabilia

Presented is a souvenir felt pennant celebrating the servicemen and women of the U.S. Navy who were based in Australia and fought alongside members of the Royal Australian Navy during WWII. The navy blue pennant is printed with the red outline of Australia underneath the U.S. Great Seal. Below that sits a white anchor with the abbreviation, “U.S.N,” and the words, “Souvenir of U.S.N in Australia.” At the fly end is a light blue kangaroo. Framed according to archival standards, this pennant symbolizes the collaborative partnership between the United States and Australia during the height of the Second World War in the Pacific Theater. On December 7, 1941, Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, severely damaging the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Japan launched a relentless assault and quickly amassed a vast new empire with a defensive perimeter that ranged from western Alaska to the Solomon Islands. In the southwest Pacific, Japan threatened American supply lines to Australia. The Australian Prime Minister John Curtin called on America for help and the United States responded. Starting in early 1942, thousands of American troops began arriving in Australia, preparing to fight the Pacific war. By 1943, there were 250,000 Americans stationed in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Working together, the United States and its allies in Australia and New Zealand launched an Allied amphibious counterattack across the Pacific, repeatedly bombing and storming Japanese-held territory, targeting tiny islands as well as the jungles of New Guinea and the Philippines. In early May 1942, U.S. and Japanese carrier forces clashed in the Battle of the Coral Sea. While both sides suffered major losses, the U.S. Navy checked a major Japanese offensive for the first time. In the Battle of Midway the following month, U.S. carrier aircraft destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers. By shifting the balance of naval power in the Pacific, Midway allowed US forces to take the offensive for the first time. The Allies soon set their sights on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and on New Guinea. In August 1942, the United States mounted a major amphibious landing at Guadalcanal. Naval forces under the command of Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey moved north through the Solomons and General Douglas MacArthur’s troops pushed west along the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, grinding out hard-fought victories by March 1943. Instead of launching ground invasions of Japanese strongholds, Allied planes and ships opted to isolate and neutralize key Japanese bases from the air and sea, and instead invade the less-well-defended islands. This practice of skipping over heavily fortified islands in order to seize lightly defended locations that could support the next advance became known as “island hopping” or “leapfrogging.” Soldiers, sailors, and the U.S. Marines pressed forward on two fronts, leaping from island to island in the southwest Pacific, while a central Pacific campaign began with the invasion of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943. By the end of the year, a two-pronged assault on Japan was well underway. Throughout the Pacific War, but especially from 1942 to 1943, Australia remained an important base of operations. U.S. naval units frequently anchored at Sydney and Perth, and General Douglas MacArthur, who became the Supreme Commander of South-West Pacific Area in April 1942 initially established his headquarters in Melbourne. Many U.S. and Australian troops embarked in Australia, using it as a base of operations prior to their deployment to New Guinea and other islands in the Southwest Pacific. Between 1942 and 1945, nearly one million U.S. troops passed through Australia in their attempt to recapture the Philippines. Souvenirs such as this pennant were produced for both soldiers and civilians, to celebrate their joint efforts. This unique piece of WWII history is a testament to not only the large-scale collaborative military operations in the Pacific Theater, but also the successful cooperation between Allied countries. CONDITION: Overall very good condition. Navy felt pennant, with a sewn light blue headband, and two looped ties...