It would be more than 10 months until the U.S. entered World War II, but on Jan. 18, 1941, a small prelude to the conflict played out on O’Farrell Street in San Francisco, when two U.S. Navy sailors tore down a Nazi flag flying outside the German consulate as a crowd cheered below.

We noticed a social media post about the incident from the “Real Time World War II” Twitter account and saw the photos referenced were clearly from The Chronicle. A search in our archive turned up articles that explained the full story of how sailors tore the flag of Nazi Germany off 29 O’Farrell — and what happened afterward.

“Since early morning when the first persons going to their offices in the vicinity sighted the German flag, the crowd had grown steadily until police estimated that more than 3,000 jammed the first block off Market street from curb to curb,” The Chronicle reported on the front page the next day, Jan. 19, 1941— alongside a giant photo of the event.

The swastika flag was being flown outside the German consulate office in honor of the country’s Foundation Day. But as calls “jammed the switchboards of the Army, Navy, newspapers, and the police departments” demanding it be taken down or at least an American flag be flown beside it, the crowd grew.

As more than 60 police officers, including the chief of police, poured into the area, two sailors on leave from Mare Island Naval Hospital took matters into their own hands.

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“Up the fire escape of the Consulate building, evading police officers who sought to stop them, went, Harold Sturtevant, 22, and E.G. Lackey, 20.” (Later articles would give Sturtevant’s age as 19.)

They climbed to the floor above the flagpole and someone let them in a window. After a short discussion, it was Sturtevant who shimmed out on the flagpole, with Lackey’s pocket knife.

As he began cutting the flag loose, “an attache of the Consulate leaned out a window directly below him, grasped the end of the glass, and a short-lived tug-of-war followed.”

The flag ripped, sending “several pieces of cloth and rope fluttering down to the street. The crowd fought to secure them as souvenirs.”

Sturtevant was pulled to safety by three other men who had followed the sailors up the fire escape. He and Lackey were arrested by San Francisco police, charged with malicious mischief, and sent back to the U.S. Navy, smiling all the way.

“They laughed and joked and said they would do it again,” The Chronicle wrote.

“I feel proud,” Sturtevant said. “I’m a sailor, paid to protect the American people. I felt like protecting them and I did.” But both men said they didn’t know the flag was flying from the consulate, and oddly told The Chronicle they “wouldn’t have bothered” if they knew.

Representatives of the German consulate were not as happy, telling newspapers the incident should be considered a violation of international law. They also had their lease canceled on them shortly after, The Chronicle reported.

Sturtevant was eventually dismissed from the Navy for the stunt, but not for long.

After the U.S. declared war on the Axis powers following Pearl Harbor, the Navy accepted his re-enlistment, The Chronicle reported on Dec. 23, 1941.

“The ex-sailor … has been forgiven by the Navy for declaring war slightly in advance of the Nation.”

More from Chronicle Vault

• Not Your Century: March 20, 1913 — Who Killed King George?

• Portals of the Past: Hundreds of Germans spent early days of WWII on Angel Island.

• Down Market: For 150 years, San Francisco has loved a parade.

• Tribute to troops: How S.F. sent World War I troops a message of love a century ago.

• After Pearl Harbor: 1942 — San Francisco braces for war.

From the Archive is a weekly column by Bill Van Niekerken, the library director of The Chronicle, exploring the depths of the newspaper’s archive. It’s part of Chronicle Vault, a twice-weekly newsletter highlighting more than 150 years of San Francisco stories. It is edited by Tim O’Rourke, The Chronicle’s assistant managing editor and executive producer of SFChronicle.com. Sign up for the newsletter here and follow Chronicle Vault on Instagram. Contact Bill at bvanniekerken@sfchronicle.com and Tim at torourke@sfchronicle.com.