Chinese WWII era banner - translation?

[Bunkerhill]

Hi gang,

This is a recent item I purchased and was hoping to have it translated or at least get a general idea of the writing.

At the top of the banner is a variation of the WWII China, Burma, India theater patch. The remainder of the banner written with Chinese characters.

Any help would, as always, be greatly appreciated.

 

[joadbres]

As you yourself note in the thread title, this is a Chinese item. As this forum pertains to Japan, your item is not really relevant here. However, I can offer a little bit of help.

I will offer a piece-by-piece rough translation of the text, but it includes some inferences on my part, and I certainly cannot vouch for the accuracy. There are certainly at least some minor errors, and there may even be multiple, larger errors. What I provide should give you a general idea of what is written, though, which is what you requested...

First of all, as I'm sure you know, the two flags in the center represent the R.O.C. flag, on the left, and the American flag, on the right. The banner was given by the Chinese to the Americans, and the text on each side describe the specific giver and recipient.

Here is my attempt at translating the various text.

Center: 友誼永誌 record of perpetual friendship

Left side: 中華民國陸軍飛彈第二營營長砲兵上校 張德溥率全營留美官士敬贈

中華民國 Republic of China
陸軍 Army
飛彈 Missile
第二營 2nd Battalion
營長 Battalion Commander
砲兵 Artilleryman
上校 Colonel (or other similar high rank)
張德溥 Zhang De-Pu (proper name) (I believe he is pictured, in B&W, on this page: 國軍歷年演習與作戰紀錄片 - 演訓回憶 - 後備軍友俱樂部 - Powered by Discuz!
率全營 leader of all battalions
留美 stationed in the U.S.
官士 officers
敬贈 presented respectfully


Right side: 美國陸軍飛彈第一旅第一羣第二營惠存

美國陸軍 U.S. Army
飛彈 Missile
第一旅 1st Brigade
第一羣 1st Regiment?? (羣 is a variation of 群)
第二營 2nd Battalion
惠存 a polite term of respect which is used to request a gift recipient to keep/preserve the gift

 

[Bunkerhill]

Hello!

Had I known there was a reply to the thread I would have answered earlier. My notification of a reply ended up in my Yahoo SPAM folder.

I was under the impression this was a Chinese forum within the jref.com overall forum? At the top of the of the thread the location states: Forum > Member lounge > China Forum. What am I missing here?

I did have a friend take a look at the banner on Saturday night and she stated the item came from Taiwan rather than mainland China.

Thank you for your help.

 

[joadbres]

I was under the impression this was a Chinese forum within the jref.com overall forum? At the top of the of the thread the location states: Forum > Member lounge > China Forum.

Oh, you are correct. I didn't know there was a China Forum on JREF until you mentioned it. I never pay attention to what subforum a post has been placed in, as that is not the way I access the forum content. Nonetheless, if you require detailed information about a Chinese item, it is better to ask on a site which specializes in China.

I did have a friend take a look at the banner on Saturday night and she stated the item came from Taiwan rather than mainland China.

It depends on when it was made. If it was made after 1949, then it would have come from Taiwan. Before that, the mainland. The 中華民國 government relocated from the mainland to Taiwan in 1949. The particular flag depicted on the banner has been in use since 1928. Absent any kind of date marking on the banner, to definitively say where it is from, you would probably need to have detailed knowledge of the army military structure over time, or detailed historical knowledge of the interactions between the Chinese and American militaries. If your friend's assessment is based only upon observing the name 中華民國 and the flag design depicted, it is not a reliable conclusion.