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Post by dmether on Jun 24, 2012 9:18:33 GMT 8
Went to Subic yesterday to take a look at some human remains that were found on a lady's property while digging a hole for a new septic tank. It appears to be about a 50% complete skeleton of a Japanese soldier. We figure he was Japanese due to the items found with the skeleton, which include an ID tag with Japanese writing (going to try to decipher it) a belt buckle that says "America Japan 1937" and has a relief of two guys wrestling, a flask of some sort that still has liquid in it, two Japanese helmets, and 5-round clips that we believe are Japanese as well. Two rifles were also recovered but we didn't see them. He was buried on top of a hill, probably in a foxhole. Since there are two helmets and two rifles, we think there might be another skeleton there. We'll contact a Japanese veteran's group to come and get the remains for a proper burial or ceremony. Attachments:
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Post by dmether on Jun 24, 2012 9:19:32 GMT 8
ID tag Attachments:
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Post by dmether on Jun 24, 2012 9:19:56 GMT 8
Clip Attachments:
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Post by dmether on Jun 24, 2012 9:20:20 GMT 8
Helmet Attachments:
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Post by dmether on Jun 24, 2012 9:20:55 GMT 8
Flask, liquid is still in it. Attachments:
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Post by okla on Jun 24, 2012 19:44:59 GMT 8
Hey dmether....This skeleton/relics almost has to be from the 1945 fighting, right? ??
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Post by darthdract on Jun 24, 2012 23:12:19 GMT 8
Demether This is really Interesting Specially the part about ( the Belth Buckle with an Engraving of Wrestlers )
Since I Am a fan of Japanese Wrestling arts like Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. Could he be an early practitioner of Judo before the Olympic rules.
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Post by okla on Jun 25, 2012 2:04:42 GMT 8
Hey dmeter....I probably am way off base on this angle, but I feel I have to toss it out there for consideration as pertains to the belt buckle relic. The NCAA Wrestling Coach during the 1920s, and 1930s (he became ill and died from cancer in 1941) at Oklahoma State Univ was one, Ed Gallagher, known in College Wrestling circles as "the Father of Collegiate Wrestling". He was a coach with the USA Olympic Wrestling teams at the 1932/1936 Olympic Games. During these times he became good friends with the Japanese National Olympic Wrestling Coach, a Mister Hatta. I have forgotten this man's given name, if I ever knew it. They, evidently did some "exchange" wrestling with individuals/teams competing prior to the war. Of course this relationship was terminated, maybe due to the China War, maybe immediately after the 1937 Nanking atrocities (note the 1937 date on the buckle). Several years after the War this relationship was renewed between teams coached by Mister Hatta and Ed Gallagher's sucessor. While I was attending College on the GI Bill during the late 1950s, Mister Hatta, who had, as I stated, renewed his relationship with the Oklahoma State Wrestling program, brought his Japanese team (whether it was a collegiate or other type amateur team escapes my recall), to his former friends' school and wrestled Oklahoma State while I was a student at said institution. Mister Hatta's two sons even enrolled at OSU and one, Masaaki Hatta won the NCAA Championship, in his weight class, at least once. Another Japanese athlete, "Little Joe" Uekio ? also won at least one championship in ensuing years. The older Hatta son, at last report, was living in Washington D.C. What I am saying, with this long, drawn out narrative, is this....I wonder if that Japanese soldier was on one of the teams that wrestled the American teams in those PREWAR years and the buckle was a presentation given to the athletes that took part in the contests. Just a hunch, but it is logical, methinks. Whatcha think?
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Post by dmether on Jun 25, 2012 9:00:04 GMT 8
Greetings: We figure the remains are from the 1945 fighting. He was located on the top of a hill, most likely in a foxhole, a good defensive position. Given that there were two helmets and two rifles (we didn't see the rifles, there were taken already) there is probably another guy still buried there.
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Post by Karl Welteke on Jun 25, 2012 15:58:49 GMT 8
Wow, that is most interesting. Was the find in the battle area? The last time I walked in the Zig-Zag Pass Battle area, 21 April 2012, a resident took me to his property. He said until a few years ago a Japanese person had come to his property and made his offerings. That location would have been an outstanding defense location, it was only about 100 meters south of where the present Japanese Memorial with the Dove on top stands. It was on the high ridge and overlooked the zig-zag road. But the only thing left was a depression good for several men. On that same walk another man told me at a water spring that this was used by the Japanese and that they had done the digging.
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