The Bones of the WWII Dead in the Caves of Saipan | History Traveler Episode 234
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- Опубликовано: 22 авг 2024
- The Battle of Saipan had the worst to offer the men who fought there. Heat. Humidity. Mountainous terrain. And caves. Many of the veterans who fought at Saipan would later speak of the horrors involved in clearing the many caves of the Japanese defenders who had fortified themselves inside. In this episode, we're venturing to a few of these hidden caves where we find sobering evidence of what happened here in 1944.
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Other episodes that you might enjoy:
- The LARGEST Banzai Charge of WWII & the Death Site of a General | History Traveler Episode 233: • The LARGEST Banzai Cha...
- The Fight For Aslito Airfield in the Battle of Saipan | History Traveler Episode 231: • The Fight For Aslito A...
- WRECKED TANKS & THE WWII INVASION BEACHES OF SAIPAN | History Traveler Episode 230: • WRECKED TANKS & THE WW...
- WWII Prisoners of the Japanese on SAIPAN | History Traveler Episode 229: • WWII Prisoners of the ...
- The Attack on PEARL HARBOR (What Many DON'T See) | History Traveler Episode 222: • The Attack on PEARL HA...
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Your latest addition, two full commercials........unable to stop the long ones, will cause me and others to look elsewhere.
@@glenn-wk2by - That’s RUclips. And every person has a different viewing experience. Someone else could watch this video and see zero ads. It all depends on your viewing patterns and what you’ve projected to RUclips.
@@glenn-wk2by if THAT is what makes you look elsewhere for content such as this, considering the commercials one has to sit through during prime time tv, it really says A LOT about YOU, not the content or the commercials.
@@darrellhampton5057 - I don't watch any commercial television at all. This content is great........I have watched the commercials on RUclips get longer and longer and I wish this wasn't so. I had to sit through 2 several minute commercials for this one. First time ever. You don't know me at all.......and I'm a big fan of history. Shouldn't be so quick to judge. Your comment says a lot about you?
How often are remains still found on the Pacific islands?
I was stationed for 16 months on Guam from 1975-1976 with Delta Company, Marine Barracks guarding the Naval Magazine. After about a year on the island, A few of my Marine buddies and I flew to Saipan for a weekend. We were surprised that there were still boat and landing craft wreckages on the coral reef. We visited Suicide Cliff and Banzai Cliff. It was quite an experience. Thanks for the excellent video.
Thank you. It is quite the place. Got another episode where we go out to one of the tank wrecks in the reef.
Semper fi.
Thank you for your service and i hope Guam treated you well.🤙🏾
Thank you for your service 🙏
My father (I'm the youngest of 7 siblings) was a Staff Sergeant that served in the 20TH US Army Air Force, 7th Army Air Corp, 414th Fighter/Bomber Group, 413th F/ B Squadron in the South Pacific Campaign on Guam, Tinian, Saipan and Iwo Jima.
I've many photos that dad took on all 4 islands. There's a lot of burnt/dead Japanese soldiers in many of the photos. Luckily his job was as a Flightline Engineer and Mechanic on the Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, so he was primarily on the airfields. However, 2 of their pilots had their throats slashed on Iwo, after ignoring orders to stay off the beaches after dark. The Japanese soldiers snuck out of the caves and killed them. I remember dad telling his stories late in life before we lost him in '06 at 88yo.
Oh wow. That generation was something else.
@@TheHistoryUnderground definitely the Greatest Generation!! We lost dad in '06 at 88 years old.
my dad worked for republic and built many of those planes
@@imbowser dad said they were very well built and hard as steel. Could take an absolute beating and still got the pilot home.
my papaw faught in the japan war army tech 5
My mother-in-law grew up on Saipan. We visited recently. She taugh tmy kids a Chamorro blessing to say when and if they found remains on the island. Never disturb the remains she said, and pray for the souls of those you find.
Being a local of the island, our elders always told us not to disturb the remains or any artifacts of the war. We were always told to just show respect, whether American or Japanese. Some of my elders died in the battle, so it hits close to the heart of the fear the civilians had to endure from the two sides exchanging fire.
Can’t even imagine.
My Uncle(my Fathers brother) served with the British 45th recce. in the Chindits. He was killed in action fighting the Japanese in Burma in 1944, near their base at 'white City'. The jungle fighting was horrific, along with all the tropical diseases that many soldiers caught. His unit suffered 90% casualties during their campaign in Burma. His body was never retrieved.
A month later, two of my Fathers cousins were killed whilst fighting the Germans in Italy( Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry and 17th/21st Lancers). Due to the delay in getting information from the far east, his family received all three telegrams informing them, the same week.
Great Channel, by the way. :)
Sorry to hear that hada dear friend in the CBI under Stillwell...had high casualties,and starved
Amazing after 80 years finding human remains. This kind of a sad moment. The horror of war. Thank you for sharing!
Sobering.
There are several RUclips channels about metal detecting on the eastern front in Europe. Skeletons are found all the time by these people, some still wearing their helmets. Remains are also still found on WWI battlefields and, just recently, human remains were found from the battle of Waterloo. Back in the 1980s, remains from the battle of Little Bighorn in Montana were found. Finding human remains where battles have been fought is pretty common.
JD, of all the coincidences to have, Ive been at Camp Lejeune, NC, home of the 2nd Marine Division. Took my girlfriend to the beach, and one of the lifeguards on duty is a Saipan native kid who always wanted to join the Marines because of the stories the elders in his family told him of the Marines bravery on Saipan, and how hard they worked to protect the natives and how well thet treated them. And ofcourse I told him of your channel and series of late about his home. He was ecstatic, and said his father and grandfather took him to a lot of those caves you went to. The kids as proud to be a Marine as any American native I met. Thanks for your time, I thought youd get a kick out of this.
I'm at Lejeune too. It's nice to know we are interested in the same history
When I was in the United States Marine Corps I was fortunate enough to attend the 60th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima it was life-changing. Got to see both American and Japanese soldiers reconciling
All those Men, Both American & Japanese were just 18-20 something year olds just doing their duty.
I'm doing work on Saipan right now and we're finding so many unexploded munitions and we're not even doing anything related to the war. There's just so much war material buried here. I heard there were some people on the island poking into the caves to look at the remains of peoples horrifying ends.
Solemn within the walls of those caves, the gentleman with you from the island was sweating a great deal and he would have been more accustumed to the climate which says a lot about just how humid it was at the time. For all involved it was an horrific time period and many am sure were affected deeply by the events that occurred there. Thank you, another wonderful video completed respectfully.
The heat and humidity on Saipan is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
My grandpa was in the second marines in WW2 and was at Saipan. Seeing videos like this is very surreal. He was one that never spoke of the war unless he was around other vets. He was a great man and to this day the most moving thing I ever saw was the Marine honor guard laying him to rest and the sound of “Taps” on the bugle..🇺🇸
As a young Marine stationed on Okinawa starting in 1959, we used to do squad tactics on Camp Sukiran in an area we called Habu Canyon, it was filled with bunkers, rusted weapons, some unexploded ammunition and the remains of dozens of Japanese soldiers left there from WWII, which just ended 14 years before! Of course mingled with their remains were those of many Okinawan civilians who had been killed during the battle or were buried in the numerous small caves where they traditionally buried their dead, other than remnants of Japanese uniforms, there was really no way to tell the difference!
😳
I was able to examine one of the caves along the Shuri line on Okinawa that was used as a hospital. Very claustrophobic even without having people shoot at you. I really did appreciate learning the history and seeing the reverence that the people of Okinawa gave to those who passed in the cave. Great job, as always, JD!
Wow! Definitely want to get to Okinawa at some point.
@@TheHistoryUnderground You're definitely going to have to watch your head there as well, JD!
It is somewhat frightening to realize what the thought process was for the Japanese - they would rather die. So very sad indeed. Thank you Fred for sharing your knowledge. I am the child of s WWII veteran who spent his time mostly in Germany once the war was officially over. Thank you for sharing these realities with us.
That’s what happens when your indoctrinated from birth to serve them emperor
Anybody who is watching this video owes a lot to Fred. He was invaluable on this trip.
If I remember correctly one of the reasons they would have rather died is because they were told if we captured them we were going to rape and torture them So a lot of them would kill themselves andoves and jump off cliffs into the ocean and what not
@@TheHistoryUnderground Hope you gave him a generous tip for his help.
Know their religion, or even irreligion, then know their thought process.
Wow! I don't think this has ever been covered anywhere on RUclips. Seeing the bones of the remains of Japanese soldiers/civilians is simply chillling. Thank you so much for covering this J. D.
🙏🏼
US Marines too! Watch vid again.
I can only imagine the feeling of being in the presence of bones; i know the feeling for visiting sites such as Little Big Horn and the like, and that must be magnified at least ten-fold. No matter the side, what the soldiers endured is frankly amazing.
Pretty sobering.
Well, depending on your mindset, it could mean a lot of different things. I've seen some very terrible things and for me personally, sadness wasn't my first thought or emotion, it was, I am glad that wasn't me. But to each his own. However, sadness and sorrow for the family, the Mother especially does come in the quiet times to haunt me. Seeing / doing these things also changes people. I know after my service in the military. I could no longer hunt. I still fish, but I never ever wanted to go hunting again. This cave is both a warning and and a message for those that are willing to listen, a long fruitful life filled with love and purpose is far more important than throwing young lives to an eternal blackness.
@@all.day.day-dreamer Mindset and experiences, then. I have never been in combat, have never been called to Serve, other than after 9/11, then I was one year too old, at least for the Marines.
Having read enough of first hand experiences, I at least understand, if not fully, where you are coming from.
Excellent job! As a history buff myself, I really appreciate your knowledge and explanation throughout each video. People really need to know the historical significance of events that preceded them, to appreciate the sacrifice of the brave men and women that gave all for their respectable countries.
Agreed. Thank you.
Wow! I can't imagine having been ordered to go in and clear those caves. Horrifying is the right word to describe it
Awful.
Respectfully and well done JD! I can't imagine being ordered to go clear a cave! Humbling for sure and history that should never be forgotten or repeated! Stay safe Brother!
J.D. did you notice the Japanese jika- tabi sole at the approx 7:20 time frame? Wow. Really brings in a connection to the bones. Unreal. Thank you for traveling all over the world for us.
🙏🏼
I was at Verdun took a photo of one of the bone cellars beneath the memorial building, won two first place photo awards in my division at DU's Foreign Language Festival later that year. With a little old Kodak Instamatic camera. I know because I just found the certificates. So much has gone forward in the area of DNA testing that all those anonymous, and jumbled human remains, could be identified, given enough time.
Pretty wild.
I would love to see these photos
Can we see those photos EVER dude ??
@@user-ml3dp9hq7o Truthfully, I have never posted a photo onto a youtube comment. I don't see how. I have here the certificates, in my album, but NOT the actual photos, this is my album with family photos and baby pictures and achievements. Those photos of the bones, piled up with a skull on top, were grisly. They are buried deep in my collection. Tell you what, if they surface, as bones are wont to do now and then, I will post them on my "homepage" here on youtube, AND come tell you about it.
@@user-ml3dp9hq7o Nope. Illegal. Human Remains. I learned that then. They asked me carefully where I was when I took them. That is how I know, among other ways.
This Saipan series is phenomenal! Great work & thank you for showing so much respect for those brave young men.
A very haunting video, JD. I can't imagine going in and not knowing what was to be found inside. I imagine grenades and flame would be sent in first, but, even so, this would have been the scariest moment of any marine's or soldier's life. Thanks for the post and very well done.
Horrifying.
I'm impressed 👍. I read the word caves and figured you would have hit your head right off the bat.. yet, a whole episode and no egg scrambles! Job well done 🙂
Ha! Exercised some extra caution in this one.
I visited Iwo Jima around ‘88’ on a field trip for winning Marine of the quarter in my unit on Okinawa. Maybe 75 of us went. Very fascinating, but what impressed me most was that on the spot where we raised the flag on Mt. Suribaci, there’s a nice little plaque placed by the USA to commemorate the moment… and I suppose our fallen. The Japanese, on the other hand, had monuments and banners everywhere on that peak. I thought it very poignant how they honored their war dead so thoroughly, and at such a remote place, as well. And they lost!
Wow! I love this episode…this is incredible! Seeing inside the caves, finding the artifacts and bones…WOW! This is incredible!!
Those trees are amazing 🤩, thank you once again for taking me to a place il never be able to go on my own! Safe travels my friend.
Glad to share the experiences. Thank you.
@@TheHistoryUnderground The tree's scientific name is "Delonix Regia", a native tree from Madagascar. They are all over the Pacific and Caribbean islands.
Your videos are the best history lesson ever. I wish I had a teacher like you when I was in school. Back then I napped in class.
Ha! Thanks. I appreciate that.
Clear illustration of how different the war was in the Pacific versus Europe.
Very much so.
I love this newly discovered channel, it's the perfect way for someone who hasn't really traveled to see and experience amazing things
Thanks!
Best one yet, JD. Thank you for reminding us that war is never glamorous. Keep up the good work!
I live on saipan and i did not know that there was still caves with bones still inside. Thank you for covering the history here on saipan. These episodes were really well produced , i got chills from this episode as well. Love the content ❤❤❤ will share your channel to a bunch of people here.
Awesome! Thank you so much.
Of all the amazing finds you've made on Saipan, Fred is the best. What a wealth of geographical knowledge to get you to the "out of the way" places.
Oh man. Fred was invaluable on this trip.
it absolutely dreadful what happened here - but they had a job to do - brilliant reflective moments in dreadful conditions - lovely done as usual
🙏🏼
Another excellent addition to your series on Saipan. I wish during the 6 days I spent there in the 70’s that I such a knowledge guide as the gentleman who accompanied you.
A very dramatic close of your video with the shot of suicide cliff.
Very well done, JD!
Sobering indeed! Strange that remains still can be found in the caves after all these years.
I know. Pretty crazy.
JD, sorry I haven’t been liking or commenting lately. Been very busy with our new house and having a baby girl. I commented on one of your videos about a year or at least 10 months ago and asked when you’d get over to the pacific. Needless to say, I’m EXTREMELY happy to stumble across your recent videos again and see that you have made your way over there. Keep the videos coming man. They are incredibly interesting I watch every second of every video with my full attention. Thanks brother!
Thanks! And congrats on the new house and baby girl. That’s definitely worthy of much more of your attention than some redneck with a camera.
I remember it was 1967, I was in my Dad's garage working on my car and he stopped me, looked into my eyes as ha never had before, I was 18 yrs.old. He had served in the 6th. Army in the retaking of the Phillipines, Vietnam was raging , he looked at me and said, I don't want you to go through what I did. That's all he said and he walked away. I enlisted and he was so proud that morning he dropped me off at the Induction Center downtown L.A.
so, did ya killed lot of kids in vietnam?
I'd like to thank history traveler for introducing me to the Gettysburg museum of history because I've ordered myself 2 artifacts, one from Omaha beach as well as another piece that is thought to be from the 82nd airborne but was definitely from American airborne on D-Day. To most,these items would appear to be common trash but to me they're incredibly special. Thanks, I can't wait to aquire myself some more items!
Awesome!
JD you have done an exceptional job covering this battle! Great work and thanks for sharing with us!!
🙏🏼
Thanks to you and Fred for creating such a reviting narrative of this battle. I hope more people listen to this since our country's history is being erased or edited due to other's feeling offended or hurt. The stories have to be told so the younger generations have an understanding of what was fought for and so they understand their grandparents trials and tribulations. It is not glamorous or full of joy, - it's real self-sacrifice that only a few truly know. Again, thank you!
Hope that people are sharing these videos. Thanks.
Sobering!! The hell these men on both sides is unimaginable. Thank you again for the Saipan series.
You've done a really great job on this series. Very thorough and engaging.
It’s like plowing the fields or walking in the woods of the Civil War battlefield after the war. You know you could find remains just by plowing or walking through the woods. Nothing has really changed.
Thank you 👍😊
Very similar.
I live here. I am a thrill seeker and sometimes I'd camp a night or two in these caves. What a thrill. Pitch black darkness and an eerie sense like somethings watching you. Whew! Especially the noises at night.
😳
It's probably the Taotaomona bro 🤙🏾. The only caves I've been into here on Guam is man made near the superior court, and the only things we saw were some homeless people living in there.
i know its morbid but its still so interesting to see something, let alone someone, at has not moved since the war.
Agreed.
My heart hurts thinking about what the combatants(and civilians) on each side we're experiencing. RIP all of them.
🙁
My Father in Law was doing everything to stay alive, not mentioning the Horifying stories that kept him awake at nights from the nightmares he had everyday of his life .He was a lifer as soon as i seen those caves and the name im in tears from his life after battles like other men who had came home they did not want to talk about it they rather wanna forget but it says alot what the men had seen and done .Thank you so much for this explore . This says it all why today we are alive and sharing the history ! Without them we would not be able to.:) Semper-FI
Thank you for going to those places and sharing the history of them with us. I cant imagine the horrors for those Marines to clear these caves.
🙏🏼
Horrific, somber, riveting video! The music was perfect. Such a tragic place! Your treatment of the human remains was very respectful. Thank You for another great video!
My grandfather fought on Saipan. I remember him as a loving man, but I learned later in life he still dealt with the horrors he witnessed. He got to come home, but I feel sorry for the family of the man’s remains who never got to know what happened to their son, Japanese or not.
It always seems that the Army's contribution, especially the action in the rugged center of the island is forgotten. My Grandfather was in the 27th Division.
I guess you haven’t seen the first 5 videos in this series yet. 🙁
@@TheHistoryUnderground I haven't, so obviously I missed something. I'll subscribe as well. Thank you for the heads up!
Not to serious students of military/naval history it’s not. Saipan was THE prime example highlighting the different tactics the WW2 Army and Marines used, and while both of them worked, they didn’t work well when employed together.
The Army on Saipan was tasked with clearing out the central thrust through the mountainous terrain, (and full of these caves), while the Marines were tasked with driving up the east and west coastal plain.
The Marines, being of the Naval forces and the Navy not wanting its ships tied down to an island, preferred to bypass enemy strongpoints and keep moving to secure the island as a whole and then leave the mopping up of those strongpoints for later.
The Army’s tactic upon running into a strongpoint, was to drop back, take cover, and call in supporting arms to paste the resistance, and then move forward to the next objective. The trade off was that the Army would take lower casualties than Marines, but take more time to clear the island.
On Saipan, the Marines made good progress heading north and northeastward up the coastal plains, while the Army got bogged down up in the hills, (the rugged terrain and those caves). The Japanese in the central hills were then able to launch flank attacks on the Marine advances from their central “salient”.
The Marine General in overall command of the battle, kept nagging the Army CG to have his troops speed up their advance, (not quite so simple as it sounds), and ended up relieving the Army general of command to finally make this happen. Not an episode of pride for either the Army or the Marines, but one that taught valuable lessons.
I’ve been to Saipan several times. I’ve walked the terrain there. Nobody should doubt the achievements of any of the soldiers that served there, Army, Marines, Sailors or Japanese servicemen. I was a Marine Infantryman for Ronald Reagan, and my late father in law was in MacArthur’s Army and fought in the Battle of Manila.
Many of the comments to this post talk of how tough it must have been to have had to clear those caves, but I wager those doing the clearing would not have traded places with the Japanese holding those caves for all the whiskey in Ireland. I’d rather sit outside the mouth and lob frags and smoke inside with suppressive fire supporting and then flame it, then make our way in and repeating the process until no further resistance than be inside the cave with absolutely no maneuver room or resupply/reinforcement and no hope of escape. Those Japanese lads were fighting in their own tomb, and they knew it.
I know this is not part of the caves BUT my Grandad rushed the beach. I wonder where else he went? As a Marine. He refused to talk. One of My favorite people.
If you know what regiment he was in, you can learn quite a bit.
JD thank you for another incredible video. Thanks again to your colleague Fred who guided you. It’s so great, that the authorities will properly take care of these remains and maybe even try to identify them? Thank you for differentiating between the naturally formed caves and those that were hewn by the Japanese troops. I often wondered that, if they were all naturally formed or if some were man-made. I got to thinking too, who knows how many soldiers and perhaps even civilians are entombed in caves that were perhaps collapsed during the bombardment before the Marines landed. That will probably never be known. See you on the next installment!
To my knowledge, they will only be able to identify the nationality. I don’t think that they go as far as to find family connections.
Thank you for this WWII Pacific Theater series JD. What strikes me the most is the different ‘feel’ I get from what you’ve shown. These Pacific battles and fighting tactics and basic mindset of the soldiers seem more ‘brutal’ or ‘sacrificial’, for lack of any better words and not meant to be disrespectful, than the more ‘classic’ style of warfare in Europe. WWII history taught in school seemed more focused on Europe than on the Pacific campaigns, but what little was mentioned touched on a greater furiosity of the Imperial Japanese soldiers. Maybe it’s the jungle setting or a difference in cultures at the time, but from what you’ve shown so far it definitely does demonstrate that the European and Pacific theaters were so vastly different from each other.
I’m hoping that these videos will be shared so that people can get a better idea of what happened there.
The scenes of the individuals operating the flame throwers had significant meaning for me since my father operated one in WWII. He injured on Guam, and the only thing he ever said was how bad the smell was.
Can’t even imagine. Got some stuff from Guam coming up next.
Talk about fear. Clearing any of those caves would make me one scared marine. In Vietnam, troops had to do same with tunnels. Great video.
My father was a motor machinist mate on a landing craft in WWII Pacific. He only talked about his battle experience once. When researching his ship's operation during WWII I found that it was only involved in one invasion, Saipan. As he described it it must have been terrifying. His landing craft was hit by an artillery shell after it hit the beach. The experience was made more terrifying because, he spent a night on the beach before he caught a ride back to his ship. His ship spent more time transporting POW's & supplies. P.S. One of my grandsons is proud he received his motor machinist rating because he had been told about his great grandfather's MOS in WWII. Dad passed in 1985 just short of his 65th birthday.
Sir , if you are still on island and would like to see one of the smaller Japanese bunkers, go to Kagman Tank Beach and go to the FAR LEFT where there is a dead end. You will find a small Japanese bunker that blends in really well with the coral surrounding it . Good luck on trying to spot it as I was surprised myself on seeing how camouflaged it was . Thank you again for your amazing videos ! You got another subscriber . 💯🤘🏽
I think that bunker took out some large number of landing craft. I escaped detection of recon photos.
lot's of terrible things happened there, but I love that island. Have dreamed of living there, was stationed in the area in the Coast Guard, a history buff + scuba diver - it was paradise to me
I appreciate your videos these are places a lot of us will never be able to go to ourselves but you make it feel as though we are there with you seeing these sights.
🙏🏼
The view of those soldiers with flame throwers is sad and sobering :(
I was a member of the Marine honor guard on saipan in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the battle and got to walk the island with some of the veterans. A truly humbling experience
This channel is awesome. He is unbiased and doesn’t try to push a perspective.
I bet that was a weird feeling seeing those remains. Thank You for sharing your travels!
Sobering.
A truly outstanding series. If you’ve never read them I whole heartedly recommend Ian W. Toll’s trilogy of books about the war in the Pacific.
On my list.
Great video JD! These caves were a scene of horrific fighting. The Japanese held their emperor as a God and were willing to give their life for him and their country. For our soldiers to have to clear out these caves it is beyond words.
Easily one of the worst tasks in World War II.
@@TheHistoryUnderground My Uncle was a staff sergeant in the 38th Infantry and fought mostly on Bataan and he told me that they couldn't get many of the Japanese to surrender and if they knew someone was in a spider hole, cave or what have you they would have 3 or 4 guys with M1's around an entrance fire a total of 10 shots from the different M1's, someone would throw a clip on the ground so the telltale sound of the clip hitting the ground was quite loud, the Japanese soldier (s) would come boiling out and then the US soldiers would shoot them. They knew if they didn't take them out then they would be seeing them later that night. My Uncle had PTSD pretty much the rest of his life.
I doubt the Japanese soldier wanted to die. They were certainly throughly indoctrinated. However they had simply nowhere else to go.
Remember most combat soldiers are between eighteen and twenty five. Scarcely old enough to have developed independent thought.
Old men declare war. Young men fight them and every one was a son who’s death was grieved.
@@tedwarden1608 - If you read the last letters of many of these soldiers, they express that it is their hope to die gloriously in combat.
Wow. I can't even imagine being you going into those things and seeing bones of military dead from the battle. Chilling.
These videos from ww2 are very interesting and informative because I've heard of Saipan, but never knew about this conflict I guess you'd call it. Thank you again J.D. for what you do.
My pleasure. Hope that people are sharing these videos so that others can learn as well.
What amazes me that yes many US solider sailor marine and airman are MIA. Some reasons are obvious why they are unaccountable but if these were Americans in these caves there would been a concerted effort to search this Island and left no stone unturned until all remains collected possibly identified and either interned or returned to their family’s. This is why we honor those who fought and died for this country.
Believe it or not, there are still many Americans missing on Saipan.
MY dad was stationed at Andersen Air Force Base Early 1970 when they were flying the B 52 strikes over north Vietnam at that point it had been about 27 years since World War II ended it’s amazing what we found in the caves including rifles and pistols that were still usable every time there was heavy rain or tropical typhoon some stuff became exposed that originally been blown shut especially on base which was off-limits to the locals sometimes they look like we were the first people of been in there for decades. And looking back so amazing we didn’t kill ourselves playing some of the stuff we found
I understand that these caves would be a natural sort of shelter, but for the life of me I don't get how anyone would want to put themselves in a situation with only one way of escape in battle....one can only imagine the sad hopelessness that these soldiers endured. God rest their souls.
Correct. There was only one way of escape in a cave. But these soldiers weren't looking to escape.
@@TheHistoryUnderground That's true....can you even imagine.....awful
Thanks for bringing me along on all your journeys and helping me to learn things that I didn't think I knew. Really war games nothing, much more is destroyed than just soldiers guns weapons and land. God bless that small child, God has pity on his mother.
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not just Marines. My Dad was Army and they did a LOT of clearing of caves. He was also in a banzai attack and an old guy from a National Guard unit was actually the hero of that attack. Coordinated effort by all service members.
Yep. We talk about that and the other places where the Army fought elsewhere in this series.
@@TheHistoryUnderground LOVE your series....thinking about going to Saipan. Dad ( and the Army) was 2nd fiddle to the Marines in the Pacific and the Marines earned every bit of the glory they deserve. However, I think the 105th which my Dad was in and maybe 106th earned 3 Medals of Honor. This were older guys from a National Guard unit. Dad was wounded when he was pinned down, in that damn valley, by snipers from up top. His best friend was a Marine and on Saipan too. Keep up the good work. I'm watching EVERY one of your videos.....incredible work
@The History Underground - I really like how you addressed the issue of the human remains and inquired with the guide as to how one goes about getting those remains repatriated. I'm going to guess that the island of Saipan does not see a lot of tourists and as such, those bones are probably in fact, Japanese. That island is 5 1/2 miles wide and 12 miles in length. There is no doubt, much to discover. I know from memory that there have been many Japanese, American and International efforts to find, catalog and return remains of both Japanese and some Americans soldiers over the past several decades. Not just on this island, but many others as well. Also, if you watch a lot of the history of these islands, those Japanese soldiers did not want to die willingly but because of culture, but mostly military indoctrination, the "created" fear of dishonor, many felt they had to kill themselves or, as you mentioned, take the enemy with them. As a kid growing up, we have all seen the black and white footage of the Japanese mother with child cradled, jump from the cliffs of some of these islands if I am not mistaken. It was very sad for a child to see these types of videos. I think it's wonderful you are traveling the world to bring us these stories. To me, this is real, in-depth, visceral, and grass roots, and not over produced. It's a very personal approach and I almost feel as if I am there with you in those caves.
It’s crazy how much there is to explore. And the island is rough country.
Actually tourism is big on Saipan, especially with Japanese since it is so close to Japan. Many older Japanese who lost relatives during the battle of Saipan consider the island as a pilgrimage to pay tribute and honor the war dead that are there.
Tourism is actually quite big on Saipan, and not just with Japanese visitors. My family went there when we were posted in Seoul, and the Korean airlines have regular service to Saipan. There is an all inclusive resort on the island called Pacific Island Club that does a lot of business, much of it with Russian tourists (to the extent that signs on the property are in English and Cyrillic.) Watching this is bringing back memories of seeing these locations first-hand and being awed by what happened on this beautiful island during WWII. Excellent job JD!
@@jerriannetaaffe5649 Tourism was just taking off when I visited in the mid 1970's. Garapan was nothing more than a few shops that closed at sunset. It is unrecognizable now.
A very sombering experience. I even felt fear as you took the camera through the brush abd entered these caves. As I watched I remembered my mother saying they all thought the world was coming to an end during the war.
Awful.
These are fascinating but horrible aswell. Bad for both sides scared to go in and scared to go out. Flame throwers were terrible weapons but effective and deadly if used correctly. Very sobering places so much death on that island.
I can’t even imagine being on either end of that flamethrower.
JD, such great content. Your channel is one of my favorites, and I have used a few of your videos in my history class. I also saw your interview on WW2TV, and I hope you do shows like that in the future. I have two quick questions, and sorry if you did answer them in the video and I missed it. 1. Is there any idea how many remains have been removed from the caves? 2. Does the Island of Saipan designate these caves as cemetery sites due to the remains still within them? Thanks again for all of your hard work and passion for history!
Dang. I’m actually not sure on either one of those questions. Thanks for watching though!
Wow! Thanks JD for another amazing and sobering video.
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I had a great uncle that fought on the islands of Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. In the 1960's he would talk a little bit about his experiences but not much. He mentioned the cliff jumping people of Saipan, committing suicide because of what the Japanese had told the people making it sound like we were monsters that would kill all of the men, children, and women. He was on mount Suribachi when both flags were raised.
I can’t get over just how far from home both sides are here. You certainly don’t want to be left behind.
Definitely not.
Incredible footage. What a story the bones tell, even today.
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You seem to have some pretty interesting friends no matter where in the world you are. As a retired surgeon who made a living putting broken bones back together, you have a pretty good command of human anatomy.
Thanks!
My grandfather served on Saipan in the immediate months after its end. The cave inspections and cleanup continued for a long time. People hid there for months, and fought for months after.
War is devastating and so sad. Realizing people fled into these caves and died forgotten..
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Intense reality of what went the soldiers on both sides as well as civilians went through. Can't even begin to imagine the emotions!
Wow...this episode was sobering....much respect for what you are doing
Keep up the amazing work JD. These are some amazing blogs. I’m so glade that you’re finally able to get to the pacific theater.
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Humble reflection of what the world can come to. We must trek lightly because freedom was delivered on heavy soles and heart. God bless those who gave everything and those that were willing to give all.
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This man is living my dream. I would do anything to travel & see all this history.
It's one thing to watch a video, but coming across human remains in person has got to be a little creepy.
Thanks for taking us to another place I probably won't ever go 👍
Definitely a sobering experience. Probably the most real the war has ever felt to me.
Amazing video as always! Impressed by your anatomy skills as you name drop all the bones!
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I was stationed on Guam in '68 and a bunch of us used to go into the jungle like you do and we found a Sherman tank and in some of the caves we also found remains. Back then the remains were not looked upon so much by us as by the Japanese.
Wow!
Very impactful JD, thank you.
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WOW!!! Enjoing your videos. I find it very interesting and for a history buff like myself, it's like food for the soul. Keep up the good work. From Capetown South Africa.... 😅😅
Respectful...really like the way you tread lightly...and you didnt bang your head ..well done
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Another great video, very interesting discoveries on your part. Saipan is truly quite a beautiful place. Hard to believe that so much horror and death occurred there.
Agreed.
I have enjoyed your series on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. I'm a US Disabled Vietnam Vet, but have been living in the Philippines since 2011. If you plan a series in the P.I., don't miss the US Military Cemetery in Taguig (Metro Manila), Intramuros (Also Metro Manila) The Spanish fort has a moat and functioning drawbridge. It was also a POW camp. Visit BOTH memorials for the POW camp at Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac Province. Each is unique.
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How terrifying would it be to be a young Marine ordered to clear those caves? The cave(s) could be full of just frightened civilians or Japanese soldiers who are ready to die for their emperor and want to take as many Marines with them (or both). "Horrifying" sounds likes a perfect word to describe it.
Awful.