Hello All --

I am hoping that someone can help me. I am looking for either a Imperial Japanese Army Veterans group, or the Japanese version of the Graves Registary.

My father served in the U.S. Navey SeaBees. During WWII he fought on the Island of Tarawa. During the battle he came into possession of photos from a Japanese Imperial Army soldier.

Secondly, I am a High School history teacher. I am always looking for ways to show that our past enemy's were probably more like us than different. I am hoping that I can find someone that can help me to identify this soldier. You may reach me at cdpinballnarcade@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for your help!

They are going to be VERY difficult to find!
First off, not many of them are still alive, then most of those alive probably wouldn't have been in the major battles where most chose to fight to the death.
They're not a very open group and considering how they're treated I don't blame them.

If you find anything, heck let me know. I'm interested in meeting a few.

A hint: you might want to contact history departments in Japanese universities... or this might be an undertaking that will require you to go to Japan and find out for yourself.

Also, some of my military heritage is Imperial Japanese so I might be able to shed *some* insight as well.

I tried for years to find the owner of an Officer's sword which had the what is presumed to be the owner's name painted on the blade under the handle.

Every person who answered wanted to buy it or to get me to donate it, but I never got one legitimate answer.

If there's any clue out there, it's most likely in Japanese...
There is a wealth of information on various things that are not in English but I think this is one of those subjects that would be hard to find even if you did a search in Japanese.

There was a story...hmmm..Reader's Digest, I think, some years ago about a Vet who was able to return a wallet to the daughter of the owner. Seems he'd shot the owner & kept the wallet & contents. Maybe you can find that article.

Originally Posted by John Mulloy

Hello All --

I am hoping that someone can help me. I am looking for either a Imperial Japanese Army Veterans group, or the Japanese version of the Graves Registary.

My father served in the U.S. Navey SeaBees. During WWII he fought on the Island of Tarawa. During the battle he came into possession of photos from a Japanese Imperial Army soldier.

Secondly, I am a High School history teacher. I am always looking for ways to show that our past enemy's were probably more like us than different. I am hoping that I can find someone that can help me to identify this soldier. You may reach me at cdpinballnarcade@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for your help!

I think the group you are looking for is the Japan Bereaved Families Association which was founded just after WW2.

http://wax.lib.harvard.edu/collectio...ction&seed=106

A link.

Interesting stuff