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Japanes Government Searches for Soldiers' Remains
Anchorage Daily News ^ | May 30, 2008 | Rachel D'Oro

Posted on 05/31/2008 10:22:53 AM PDT by Matthew James

The searchers dug for days, ignoring blisters and sore muscles to look for remains of Japanese soldiers buried in mass graves on the Aleutian island of Attu following one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

But old bullets and bits of barbed wire were all that emerged from beneath the grassy tundra - until the end of the two-week mission by U.S. and Japanese representatives who traveled to the remote resting place of nearly 2,500 soldiers. On May 23, searchers struck their shovels on decaying wood boxes and found the well-preserved bones of two Japanese soldiers likely buried by their comrades during the 1943 Battle of Attu.

(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: japan; powmia

1 posted on 05/31/2008 10:22:53 AM PDT by Matthew James
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To: Matthew James

Many Americans want the remains of our soldiers returned to our families in America.

God speed these former enemy Japanese soldiers home to their families who, today, are our friends.

Burying the dead is a corporal work of mercy as is ransoming the captive.


2 posted on 05/31/2008 10:31:15 AM PDT by SaltyJoe (Lenin legalized abortion. Afterward, every life was fair game for Death.)
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To: SaltyJoe

Maybe - but then again the Japanese army in WWII was basically a uniformed murder and torture cult. Find the remains and ship ‘em home. But no flags, speeches, salutes etc...and least not on U.S. soil


3 posted on 05/31/2008 10:35:20 AM PDT by Dagnabitt (Jihad is for wankers.)
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To: Dagnabitt

I could not agree more with your sentiments.


4 posted on 05/31/2008 10:56:41 AM PDT by Postman
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To: Matthew James
Actual title:

Japanese government searches for soldiers' remains

What the hell is a "Japanes"?

5 posted on 05/31/2008 10:59:43 AM PDT by humblegunner
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To: Dagnabitt

I overlook, with purpose, those desires to condemn these generations past men as with death Justice has dealt them. Now, there souls, with all souls, require Requiem.


6 posted on 05/31/2008 11:23:31 AM PDT by SaltyJoe (Lenin legalized abortion. Afterward, every life was fair game for Death.)
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To: Matthew James
Will the Japanese tell us what happened to the married couple manning the weather station that disappeared during their invasion? I can't remember their name but I remembered that they went missing and were never found.I think if the Japanese are going to come look for their dead on our soil the need to tell us what happened to these folks before one bone is removed from the island.
Maybe some freeper out there can fill in the facts of this story since I don't have all the information.
7 posted on 05/31/2008 12:03:00 PM PDT by bonehead4freedom (No I can't vote for McCain,he's Arnold without the accent!)
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To: bonehead4freedom

I heard the man was shot while defending himself and the woman was sent back to japan and interned for the duration of the war. This information was from Brian Garfield’s book on the Aleutians campaign.


8 posted on 05/31/2008 12:22:45 PM PDT by Eternal_Bear (`)
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To: Eternal_Bear
Thanks for the info by the way did the lady make it back home after the war or did she from the hospitality as a guest of the emperor?
9 posted on 05/31/2008 12:43:47 PM PDT by bonehead4freedom (No I can't vote for McCain,he's Arnold without the accent!)
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To: bonehead4freedom

die


10 posted on 05/31/2008 12:45:14 PM PDT by bonehead4freedom (No I can't vote for McCain,he's Arnold without the accent!)
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To: Matthew James
I saw a good documentary about the Aleutian Campaign.

Not much humor came out of it (it was a really nasty business), but I liked the story about the bureaucrat or politician who went to the Aleutians just before Pearl Harbor to warn the native people about what was coming. He told an assembly that there might be an attack on the United States. A hand went up. Someone asked: "What's the United States?"

The Aleutians were definitely the middle of nowhere then.

11 posted on 05/31/2008 12:47:14 PM PDT by joe.fralick
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To: bonehead4freedom

The man committed suicide before the Japanese reached the village. His wife tried the same, but failed, and was captured with the rest of the villagers. They were sent to Hokkaido for the duration of the war, and later returned to California. The government decided that it was too costly to reestablish Attu village, and I believe the survivors settled somewhere in California.


12 posted on 05/31/2008 1:03:42 PM PDT by Matthew James (SPEARHEAD!)
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To: Matthew James
Thanks for clearing that up,in this instance I would have no problem with the Japanese removing their dead but any ceremonies honoring them need to be preformed in Japan.
13 posted on 05/31/2008 1:13:23 PM PDT by bonehead4freedom (No I can't vote for McCain,he's Arnold without the accent!)
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To: bonehead4freedom

She made it back but a few Aleuts she was interned with didn’t.


14 posted on 05/31/2008 2:36:40 PM PDT by Eternal_Bear (`)
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