Repatriating personal items from WWII
mtfe...@netmapsonscape.net
some personal affects he took off dead Japanese soldiers in the lulls in
the battle.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/13/veteran.return.pacific.war/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Good reading for a little insight into the mindset of a soldier in his
downtime on the battlefield, and his reactions post-war.
Mike
wb6...@hotmail.com
> There's an article about an Iwo Jima vet, and his efforts to repatriate
> some personal affects he took off dead Japanese soldiers in the lulls in
> the battle.
>
>
> Good reading for a little insight into the mindset of a soldier in his
> downtime on the battlefield, and his reactions post-war.
>
> Mike
I recall a story that first appeared approximately 10 years ago in a
local newspaper here in Southern California. A Marine either on
Guadalcanal or Bouganville had survived a Japanese banzai charge.
After the firefight the Marine had retrieved some papers and a photo
from a uniform pocket of one of the dead Japanese soldiers.
After the war, the Marine had put the documents in a foot locker, and
finally retrieved them from the attic. He became curious about the
photo, as it was a photo of the Japanese soldier, his wife, and a
small child.
He contacted Japanese officials, who were able to find the wife of the
dead soldier, and the soldier's daughter who were living in a small
town.
The photo and documents were returned to the family and, as it turns
out, was the only photo of the soldier, wife and little girl taken
shortly before the soldier went off to war.
The mayor of the Japanese town invited the Marine to be the guests of
a grateful Japanese family and community, and flew him round trip to
Japan. They honored the Marine by giving him a key to the town.
Tim Watkins