If you can't remove them Ted, try this. First, carefully paint over the red centre spot, using white paint of course. When it's dry, apply the 'Stars and Bars' over the top of the existing decal, using Micro Sol/Set. That should take care of it.
I'm glad you were able to catch it, as the old pre-war marking went out when Japan entered the war, a directive of May 15 1942 changing the marking to Type 2, without the red centre. This was to avoid any possible confusion with the Japanese 'meatball'. The 'Bars' were added after tests in 1943, the order being dated June 28, to be completed by September 1. The idea was to make the marking more recognizable at a distance, in the form of a rectangle, as the blue disc, and the German cross, tended to blur into a hazy circle at a distance. The bars have been there ever since!