Flag from the USS Ralph Talbot

Flag flown by the destroyer USS Ralph Talbot during World War II. Later obtained by Topeka native, Third Class Petty Officer Sharitt Baker, the flag flew as the ship sailed away from the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The quartermaster exchanged the flag for another on the morning the ship participated in the raids on the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. Procedure dictated the flag be burned but Baker received special permission to keep it. He stored in under his mattress until he returned home.

More information at: https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/312498