Relic Pocket Watch

[toadboy65]

Pocket watch, found in a Pacific bunker, marked "SKS Nickel" . This watch is interesting because the concussive blast that killed the owner left impressions of the gears and other internal parts on the back cover. This area of the bunker was damp, and no trace of human remains were found there.

[Ron P]

Cool! What island was it found on? Ron.

[toadboy65]

The watch was found on Saipan, and probably sustained the damage on 23 June 44. years ago, wrote an essay about that particular complex. I found quite a bit there, and it was a pretty emotional experience. I will past that part of the essay here. the forum members can read it if interested, or not. It is sort of long.


-toad


I found the cave by cutting through the jungle, mapping shrapnel density with a metal detector, and when I got close I began to see bits of broken glass mostly buried in the dirt and rocks. There had been a beer bottling plant in the capital of Garapan, and the retreating troops had taken lots of beer with them when the American bombardment began. They tended to throw the empty bottles from their emplacements. When you start finding lots of bottles, you are literally a stone's throw away from the entrance. he real giveaway was some corrugated steel bits, which were once used to cover the entrance and disguised with dirt and vegetation. The jungle was super dense, and much of the way to the cave required literally crawling on hands and knees while cutting a path with a machete. I guess I spent three weeks looking for the entrance after I started to see the signs. Of course I worked days then, so I explored from 4:00 pm each night to about 1:00 am. Anyway, the entrance was buried when the cave was blown, but I was able to dig it mostly out. The original entrance had been two holes about three feet wide and two feet high, one facing south toward the American lines, the other about 20 feet away facing the base of a 1500 foot cliff to the north. I uncovered the north entrance, and entered the first room. there had been some dampness in that first room, so you could only tell where the bodies lay from the boots which lay in pairs, the leather wallets and belts, and a few buttons and bits of glasses. The men who died in this first room were a combination of Imperial Army and Navy, the battle at that point having been going on for 12 days, on an island 12 miles long 5 miles wide. I found an Imperial Army officer's pocket watch, which had been blown apart by the concussion of a tank round, the remains of which were all over the first room. There were four levels and maybe five rooms in the cave.There had originally been wooden ladders, but they had mostly fallen apart. I used climbing gear for the descent into most of these caves. It was mostly a natural cave, but had been opened up a little. The deeper you get in these complexes, the hotter and drier it gets. The second level was mostly empty. The civilians had crammed themselves into the third level which had two chambers about three feet high and maybe 15 feet across. The access between rooms was vertical and just big enough to squeeze through. The fourth level contained a large room with a sandy floor, but was only 18 inches high, tapering to nothing at the edges. There were some crates, canned goods and sake, water and beer bottles in the lowest level, but no human remains.There was some evidence that it had been used as a latrine when the fighting approached. I went back up to the third level. the first room at that level had mosly civilian remains, with lots of broken antique Japanese porcelain, bits of cloth and remains of civilian gasmasks. When I crawled into the second room of the third level down, I was maybe 40 feet underground. The layout and contents of that room will be an experience that will never leave me. They had pushed the children into that room at the end. I was in that room at near midnight, I was alone with probably no living person within eight miles. I was experiencing one tiny, awful moment frozen in time-

The day was June 23rd, 1944. The second marine division was fighting northward towards the cliff base, clearing the caves, tunnels and spider holes. I believe the tank was following the old railroad tracks which had serviced the sugar cane fields to the south. After the marines directed the tank to blow the cave entrance, the marines entered and I am sure that one man had to descend at least to the second level. The children were huddled as far away from the entrance to the chamber as they could get. They were killed by two hand grenades. so I am crouching there, imagining that moment. There were I think 10 or so children in that little chamber. I am sure they screamed when the grenades rolled in. I hope that they did not suffer much. The real horror of this story is the poor marine who had to hear those screams, and probably heard that sound for the rest of his life. he had been fighting probably since Kwajalein where the fourth marines landed On February 4th of that year. there had been many small Islands that had to be taken at great expense between then and their landing on Saipan. but Saipan was worse than the others. The Japanese had been there for a long time, and it was considered a home island. That Marine had fought across those islands, with Japanese sniping at him from trees and popping out of secret holes. By the time the marines got to Saipan, they shot anything that moved. So here is this guy who crawled into yet another cave, and threw those two grenades. He is not the villian here. I don't think there is one. The Americans had to take Saipan because it overlooked Tinian, which was flat enough to build airfields to launch B-29s that could reach mainland Japan. The Japanese were fighting for their homes, and once defeat was inevitable, they fought to delay the Americans from reaching mainland Japan, and their wives and children for one more day or even one more hour.There were 25,000 mostly japanese civilians on the island, and 30,000 Japanese troops. 20,000 of those civilians were killed in that battle. 29,000 of the Japanese soldiers were killed. American forces sustained 3,426 killed and 13,099 wounded. In the last days the remaining japanese started committing suicide, But the grenades in that particular cave were American.I have them in my office. When I have been asked to speak about the pacific war, I always bring those Grenade fragments, and tell the story Of the marine and the cave and the children, and let the listeners touch those fragments, and the watch The officer had in his pocket when he died. A postscript to the story is that If the Marine survived Saipan, his next stop was Iwo Jima. The entrance to the cave was sealed with a satchel charge, and stayed sealed until I found it.

[GHP]

The watch was found on Saipan, and probably sustained the damage on 23 June 44. years ago, wrote an essay about that particular complex. I found quite a bit there, and it was a pretty emotional experience. I will past that part of the essay here. the forum members can read it if interested, or not. It is sort of long.

Very poignant.

--Guy

[Ryukyutunnelrat]

Toad,

Thank you for sharing your story. I have been in many similar caves on Okinawa where the my emotions would get the best of me. I could probably write a book.

Best, David.