Codes & symbols

Welcome from Australia!

Just for a minute, think this through. If you do, you may be the very first on this forum to do so.

Fleeing soldiers don't have much free time to bury things. More often than not, a choice of saving one's life or saving some general's gold is an easy one. Run and leave it all behind is the answer. Any treasure left behind by a retreating army has most likely been found. The odd small cache of personal items might be the exception. A soldier not wanting his family photos or mementos to be defiled might bury them quickly believing he may come back for them some time.

Most of the Yam treasure guys here are digging holes 30 to 100 feet deep. It takes months to dig a hole that deep to bury treasure and as many months to dig it up later. It just didn't happen, my friend. The most likely place to hide anything while fleeing would be a natural cave of some kind. Sealing it with branches or even a landslide created by a grenade would only make it mere yards into the ground, if that far.

If you write a book of fiction on the subject, keep that in mind. I might also mention that even if you develop a fictional story, someone will come along and insist it's true and begin a treasure hunt based on your fiction. Ironic, eh?

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,18040.msg117914.html#msg117914

For me the issue is that some people die a fool's death when they chase Yamashita's alleged treasure. They take unnecessary risks in the belief that there really is treasure hidden by poison gasses or death traps. They never once consider how dangerous it would have been for the Japanese to enter those same places to bury any treasure. They never consider how long it takes to dig a hiding place that is 40 feet into the ground. They never consider how much machinery it takes to make a concrete bunker that deep. No matter how long the Japanese were there, they wouldn't have buried the gold. They needed it to fight the war, feed their troops and built more war machinery.

The smell of treasure blinds people who seek it. They fabricate a story to fit what they find. A sign like a plus? Why, it must mean I am near it! A turtle rock? Oh, boy! There it is, 40 feet down.

I do believe there may be a few caches left around. Perhaps as many as 10 but they won't be large ones. Yamashita was captured with most of his booty within a few yards of his capture. That's verifiable. When he was certain to be put to death, he brushed away any suggestion that he hid more gold. His final statement tells it all. By the time he was executed, he had made peace with his captors. He knew he had no hope of escape so why keep any gold hidden?

His final words before he was hanged: "As I said in the Manila Supreme Court that I have done with my all capacity, so I don't ashame in front of the gods for what I have done when I have died. But if you say to me 'you do not have any ability to command the Japanese Army' I should say nothing for it, because it is my own nature. Now, our war criminal trial going on in Manila Supreme Court, so I wish to be justify under your kindness and right. I know that all your American and American military affairs always has tolerant and rightful judgment. When I have been investigated in Manila court I have had a good treatment, kindful attitude from your good natured officers who all the time protect me. I never forget for what they have done for me even if I had died. I don't blame my executioner. I'll pray the gods bless them. Please send my thankful word to Col. Clarke and Lt. Col. Feldhaus, Lt. Col. Hendrix, Maj. Guy, Capt. Sandburg, Capt. Reel, at Manila court, and Col. Arnard. I thank you."


Look at it this way. If he really had hidden more gold, it would have been a good bargaining chip for him to use. In the post war corruption, surely he could have bargained for his life. He had nothing left and that was the truth of it.

When I say there may be as many as 10 sizable caches left undiscovered, that's based on the evacuation routes left to the Japanese forces who may not have had time to turn over their captured gold to Yamashita. It's doubtful that much gold was taken from the Filipino people because they were as poor as they are now. I believe that any gold they carried probably came from the rest of the Indonesian island chains and was transported to the Philippines. Therefore, the amounts would be very small. All 10 caches might make up 10% of what was found with Yamashita.

Good luck with your writing. Who knows? We may have a future famous author in our midst.

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,18040.msg117925.html#msg117925

Thanks, I already have those but they are not necessarily exhaustive or complete. There seems to be many, many signs that the treasure hunters come up aginst and I suspect that a lot of those have appeared since WW11. 

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,18040.msg118160.html#msg118160

		Quote:			Posted by Rattlesnake Joe
	GD  The Japaneese dug tunnels and caves on Iwo Jima like crazy and they mostly used picks and shovels.  After the war a cache was found buried in one of these caves.  So it is possible that the Philipines have hand dug holes to hide things too.  The bargaining chip was small for what they did to our service men on Battan and other attrocities.  So who knows?

That, even if true, has nothing to do with what I wrote. Did you even bother to read what I wrote?

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,18040.msg118212.html#msg118212

		Quote:			Posted by sydney
	i think everybody here has the right to say what he/she believes.. if thats gd's opinion so be it.. if other people thinks there are deep tunnels in PI filled with gold and treasures so be it...... period.

The only problem with this attitude is that he addressed me directly in his post. Thus, I made note to him that he was discussing something else. He'll get over it, mate. Relax.

Linkback:

You are not allowed to view links.
Please Register or Login

http://www.thunting.com/smf/index.php/topic,18040.msg118272.html#msg118272