The Japanese Soldier That Got Dad

This is a great idea James, I hope you follow through, keep us updated, let us know what the outcome is!

 

Excellent work all round.

 

Well I was about to post a long post I made but I got the 404 error when I tried to post and it wouldn't let me visit the forums. So I'm on my VPN now and the site is working fine.. Anyways could we be a little more specific what were looking for? There is a state that belongs to Palau called Koror (also a city) and within this state there are several islands. So are we looking for 6 Coral Street on Palau island or another island in one of the Palau states? If you know which island your looking for an want to see if that address is still valid then your best bet may be calling a Palau tourism center since there's a good chance they will speak english and have access to city maps.

Palau Island #:(680) 488-2793
Usa # (925) 388-0164 ( Not sure if they can help you)

Palau Visitors Authority - About PVA

Like I said, if we know which island were searching the address for then that will make it easier. I'll keep checking back, good work everyone.

 

this is a great thread everyone!, and a pleasure to read.....keep updating please

 

Well I did some more research on the islands last night but haven't found too many detailed maps of the islands so things like streets,landmarks,etc I haven't been able to locate yet. We have remember that during WW2 the USA and Japan were fighting on the islands of Palau so there's a good chance many of the streets have been renamed,removed,etc. Most of the roads in Palau are also unpaved so after many years of no one using the dirt road it is possible it has been over grown with plants,trees,etc. In your translation the residence is Coral Street (KORORU), there is a state(island) with the name Koror like I have said in the above post and the locals also call it Kororu. Anyways, I think we need to think over our options.

1) See if the address is still valid and who is living there. Most locals on islands like Palau know everything that goes on since the populations of islands are typically small.
2) It could be possible that residence address was a military base I suppose. Would be easier to find then a individual home.
3) Contact local travel centers in the area of Palau, they own maps and most likely will be willing to help.
4) Wait until we get an update from the Japanese Embassy you have contacted and that website James posted.

Anyways, here are some maps Palau Maps - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection - UT Library Online

I also found a neat website, its about these teams that go to Palau and research USA MIA's during WW2 solve the mystery of what happened to these MIA, they've had some good success. They do speak english and the know the islands well. Here the website
The BentProp Project - Home Page contact:info1@bentprop.org

I'll keep checking back.

Edit: Turns out there is a whitepages for Palau
http://www.palaunet.com/white_pages.aspx

 

The first post mentions that a flag was one of the items recovered.

Generally speaking, the flag was a series of best wishes to a soldier heading off to war, given by the people who knew him.

They often contain place names ("such-and-such town soldiers' support organisation") and the largest characters are always the soldier's name.

I would encourage you to compare the characters on the flag to those on the business cards, to double-check the man's identity.

My wife too is Japanese and has helped decipher a couple of these.

Congratulations to you on trying to return these items to the family.

One word of caution though - in many cases there is no-one left in Japan who remembers the man, so you must be prepared that even if you do identify some relatives, they may be unwilling to take the items back - bad juju.

 

Here is my dear MIL's latest email:

"The name of the shipping company was famous after the war. It was called Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha. My translation in English may not be the correct name.

I am honored to be asked to write for the forum. I was a teenage at the outbreak of WW11. I did not have any horrible experience or excitement as some people had, so there was nothing interesting I could write about. I am still recovering from my illness. I sm feeling very weak. Please thank your friend for giving me this high honor, at the moment I am afraid I do not have the energy to write.

The image is clearer, but there are scribbles I could not decipher. so I could not make a sentence. I am writing what I guess as follows. The words I missed I just put an "X" so that you would know what I did not translate.

" X " Sentinels Special Rules

1. "X"X"X" sentinel number.

2. Also need to "X""X" at roads, villages,

3. Enemy condition

4. Conditions of our troop in front and near "X"

5. Keep surveillance in all respect especially at important places and directions

6. Must pay special attention to matters regarding enemy's ways and means of operation of "X""X"

7. Communication regarding position, number etc. with "X" front sentinel.

8. Position of "X" sentinel, central squad etc and communication

9. Surveillance of "X" semtinel, method of shifts, if necessary, movements of "X""X" solidiers.

I hope the above can be of some help."

For a lady of 85+ years, she is a special person! I too hope this helps.

 

It most certainly does...............great thread

 

Many thanks to Tex and his Dear MIL. They have given life to some old scraps that have been locked up in a foot locker for over 60 years.

Here's another page.

The Japanese Embassy passed me along to a private organization in Japan. I will have to mail the information to them as they have no email.

However, the website I told you about earlier is very excited about it. They said the name is Yoshimichi Gakiya, almost identical to Tex's translation, and that they are working on it. They asked for more pages from the booklet and a better scan of the soldier. I sent both this morning.

 

That last scan looks like a diagram for a mortar position

 

Considering there was notes about sentry positions, perhaps that diagram relates to sentries and outposts.

 

Nah.........I don't read Japanese so I am not going to argue the point; but, you have 6 points ( Mortar pits) leading back to 2 larger points ( Fire Control points ) that lead back to a single point ( Ammunition Supply point). That's not saying it might not be a diagram of a coastal defense or artillery position, but my money is on a mortar emplacement.

 

That's probably so, though it seems it could also diagram a Japanese field gun set-up.

 

Just a note on the mortar theory.

This is from the video my dad made, which is on my web site if you'd like to watch it. This part is toward the end.

"We went up there the night before and dug in behind them. They were in an emplacement on a mountain. They had mortars and Nambu machine guns. They didn't even know we were in the world. In the morning we swept down and took out several positions"

 

Well there ya go then.

 

We recently published "Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath." While researching the book, we spent a month in Japan interviewing twenty-three former Imperial Army soldiers who had fought on Bataan. (Three of these men had also taken part in the atrocities that followed the battle.) Our Japanese sources were remarkably candid and forthcoming.

Part of the brutality went back to training. (Here's an excerpt from our book). The Japanese | Tears in the Darkness

 

Wow, a lot has happened here since I last checked the thread. Amazing guys! Wherever this goes, what a marvelous adventure! Continued good luck and thanks for allowing us to share in the knowledge and emotion that has come forth.

What a picture that paints of the IJA and where their heads were at!