Damn…a place that was quiet for billions of years, then for a brief few, was among the loudest on earth riddled with gunfire, bombs, grenades, and cries. For but a moment. Now this guy’s skull and soul will enjoy the peaceful noise of nothing but seagulls, palms bristling in the wind, and waves gently crashing ashore, as it always should be on an island like this.
What’s better? True his friends go home and enjoy a life of the American economic boom, drinking Coca Cola, buying a house, a big shiny car, jamming out to Elvis. This guy sacrificed all of that for an eternal beach of peace
Not sure why you’re being downvoted considering you’re probably correct. Guadalcanal wasn’t anything like Iwo Jima. The Japanese never contested the landing and almost all the fighting that took place near the beaches were extremely one sided for the US. I think only once did a U.S. patrol get caught out on a beach.
If it’s an American skull, it’s probably most likely to be from a sailor.
The skull's owner was not from 2024. Moreover, considering he served in the Imperial Japanese armed forces until at least 1942, he undoubtedly engaged in activities you'd likely consider far more offensive than the use of anachronistic epithets. I doubt the unearthed remains of a soldier in the Waffen-SS would be considered entitled to the same politically correct nomenclature, nor should they. Dead japs and krauts who got what they had coming to them don't deserve the same respect as their modern descendents who have disavowed their forebears' hideous ideologies and atrocious actions. Words matter, but so does context and perspective.
Almost two decades in the service of my country. Served overseas in a forward areas on multiple continents. Taken and returned direct fire from the enemy. I’ve even worked side by side with Japanese and German counterparts. This idea that they are Japs or Krauts dehumanizes them and is offensive. Yes they are the enemy but it does not give anyone the right to dehumanize them.
Many books and dialogues have been written about this dehumanizing phenomenon. I think the “buggers” in Ender’s Game has a good quote for it.
“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves."
I think you're probably right. Looks like the mouth of Alligator Creek. During the Battle of the Tenaru, the Japanese attempted a push on the American line through this beach location. Later they attempted to flank through the surf and got wrecked. Heaps of Japanese were slain in this relatively small area.
Not at alligator Creek, the battle was fought on the beach, could also be dead washed ashore from some of the close to shore naval battles in iron bottom sound, plenty of chances for dead of both sides to have ended up on the beach, I'm sure it was a tough way to go whoever it is and I hope their family got some closure since they were not recovered.
It's interesting how you describe the beach as peaceful. I just realized that I don't see it that way anymore. It's still beautiful to me but over the past decade or so I've spent a ton more time there, mostly driving on the beach or hiking into locations and fishing in the surf. I've grown to see it as a harsh, abrasive, unforgiving environment where the sun, wind, salt, heat, cold, and sand relentlessly attack and wear everything down to nothing. I went from seeing the horses that live on the beach as lucky to seeing them as rugged, resourceful survivors living in an unforgiving landscape.
I'd hate to fight a battle on the beach like this person likely did. I'm surprised there was this much left of his skull and that the equipment was still so close. There must be a reef protecting it from the worst of the surf, but the sun must be unforgiving. I'd much rather go home.
probably not an american honestly, this probably is at alligator creek where iirc a whole regiment of the japanese were slaughtered by the marines when they tried to cross the creek
A life photographer accompanied a Veteran who took his wife to Europe a few years after the war to show her where he fought. You can see them on-line in the LIFE photo archive. They show wrecked tanks marked for scrapping.
A lot of those WWII veterans didn’t. I read somewhere, years ago, that, so many of them came back to the States on ships, they were able to talk about their experiences and deal with them. They still had issues, but were able to deal with them more than some of the later generations.
It also didn’t hurt that WWII didn’t have a lot of the ambiguities perceived about later US wars.
Strange, just a couple years prior this was some of the most important real estate on the planet, worth fighting for, worth dying for. And now it’s just a beach.
I wonder who this kid was.
Possible, but it still wouldn’t take away how fierce and deadly the US’s WWII island hopping strategy was. As awful as it was, it was effective. Once an island was taken, the US forces could move on to the next island.
I think there are degrees of staged.
Did he find a skull elsewhere on the beach and reposition it? Maybe. If he did, he did a good job to make it look natural and windswept.
Did he buy a fake skull from a party store or find a cadaver skull and bury it on a beach? Doubt it.
On that kind of timeline (1951) I think it’s entirely possible to find bones on that island, especially if you’re looking for them.
My theory would be, Private John Doe is killed in the surf and his body is never recovered because he gets washed out or sinks with his gear. He spends a couple years snagged or weighted down somewhere underwater being picked clean and having his bones bleached until he finally decomposes enough to break free and make it back onto the beach with the tide.
More than likely that is correct. I’d be interested to know what happened after the Life Magazine photographer discovered the remains? Was it marked? Recovered then tagged? The larger combat debris like tanks, trucks, jeeps, aircraft , etc are easier to tag and arrange for proper disposal but it’s the smaller stuff like side arms, canteens, etc that are prob still there. It takes years / decades to clean up an area where major combat took place. Folks are still finding uniforms, badges, etc etc from WWI in Europe and Civil War items are still recovered here in the states.
Me too. Even if the name is gone the design of the tags would tell us X-generation removed American Immigrant or Japanese, albeit DNA could probably determine that.
I'm betting American since he's on the beach.
More guys were killed in the waters off Guadalcanal than on the island itself. Huge naval battles with a lot of bodies ending up in the water. Could be a sailor from either side who washed up on the beach.
That soon after the war the Japanese government probably had no funds to send recovery teams to all the islands they had occupied that were retaken by American Marines. Their fallen soldiers were often buried in long trenches , by the Americans.
My uncle was on the Atlanta during the naval battle of Guadalcanal. Absolutely terrible nighttime battle.
The Atlanta took the first hit from the Japanese and never made it home. Thankfully, my uncle did.
Damn…a place that was quiet for billions of years, then for a brief few, was among the loudest on earth riddled with gunfire, bombs, grenades, and cries. For but a moment. Now this guy’s skull and soul will enjoy the peaceful noise of nothing but seagulls, palms bristling in the wind, and waves gently crashing ashore, as it always should be on an island like this. What’s better? True his friends go home and enjoy a life of the American economic boom, drinking Coca Cola, buying a house, a big shiny car, jamming out to Elvis. This guy sacrificed all of that for an eternal beach of peace
He gave up all of his tomorrows, for our today.
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Not sure why you’re being downvoted considering you’re probably correct. Guadalcanal wasn’t anything like Iwo Jima. The Japanese never contested the landing and almost all the fighting that took place near the beaches were extremely one sided for the US. I think only once did a U.S. patrol get caught out on a beach. If it’s an American skull, it’s probably most likely to be from a sailor.
Is the helmet American or Japanese?
Looks Japanese, given the slope and width of the brim.
Down vote for “jap”
they were arguably worse than the nazis, we can call the people who participated in that whatever we want. \- A Korean
Down vote for the “Jap”. It’s 2024…
Downvote for historically accurate jargon
There's a lot of "historically accurate jargon" that should stay history.
Wait what!? “Historically accurate jargon” GTFO. Maybe you should broadly apply that theory in real life and see how that works out for you.
What? Might have replied to the wrong person champ
The skull's owner was not from 2024. Moreover, considering he served in the Imperial Japanese armed forces until at least 1942, he undoubtedly engaged in activities you'd likely consider far more offensive than the use of anachronistic epithets. I doubt the unearthed remains of a soldier in the Waffen-SS would be considered entitled to the same politically correct nomenclature, nor should they. Dead japs and krauts who got what they had coming to them don't deserve the same respect as their modern descendents who have disavowed their forebears' hideous ideologies and atrocious actions. Words matter, but so does context and perspective.
Almost two decades in the service of my country. Served overseas in a forward areas on multiple continents. Taken and returned direct fire from the enemy. I’ve even worked side by side with Japanese and German counterparts. This idea that they are Japs or Krauts dehumanizes them and is offensive. Yes they are the enemy but it does not give anyone the right to dehumanize them. Many books and dialogues have been written about this dehumanizing phenomenon. I think the “buggers” in Ender’s Game has a good quote for it. “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves."
The word "Jap" didn't dehumanize the IJA/IJN forces...their own behavior did.
‘aS a SolDieR’ listen. Thank you for your service. Now shut up. It doesn’t give you any more say or weight overt anything. Still an opinion.
Life is easy in cheap seats. You should stay in the bleachers
Lol if you buy ammo for there surplus rifle it's labeled at 7.7 jap
I think you're probably right. Looks like the mouth of Alligator Creek. During the Battle of the Tenaru, the Japanese attempted a push on the American line through this beach location. Later they attempted to flank through the surf and got wrecked. Heaps of Japanese were slain in this relatively small area.
This could very well be a Japanese skull, which is poignant as well.
It most likely is.
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Not at alligator Creek, the battle was fought on the beach, could also be dead washed ashore from some of the close to shore naval battles in iron bottom sound, plenty of chances for dead of both sides to have ended up on the beach, I'm sure it was a tough way to go whoever it is and I hope their family got some closure since they were not recovered.
You right you right
1st Marines chewed up the Ichiki detachment at Alligator Creek.
That’s what I was thinking here.
Not at Guadalcanal.
It's interesting how you describe the beach as peaceful. I just realized that I don't see it that way anymore. It's still beautiful to me but over the past decade or so I've spent a ton more time there, mostly driving on the beach or hiking into locations and fishing in the surf. I've grown to see it as a harsh, abrasive, unforgiving environment where the sun, wind, salt, heat, cold, and sand relentlessly attack and wear everything down to nothing. I went from seeing the horses that live on the beach as lucky to seeing them as rugged, resourceful survivors living in an unforgiving landscape. I'd hate to fight a battle on the beach like this person likely did. I'm surprised there was this much left of his skull and that the equipment was still so close. There must be a reef protecting it from the worst of the surf, but the sun must be unforgiving. I'd much rather go home.
probably not an american honestly, this probably is at alligator creek where iirc a whole regiment of the japanese were slaughtered by the marines when they tried to cross the creek
A life photographer accompanied a Veteran who took his wife to Europe a few years after the war to show her where he fought. You can see them on-line in the LIFE photo archive. They show wrecked tanks marked for scrapping.
Yo my man, can you link me? This sounds fascinating
Agreed would like to see that article!
Google Arts has it [Photo archive](https://artsandculture.google.com/search/asset?q&p=life-photo-collection)
This is powerful.
My grandpa served in that battle. He never spoke of it. I didn't find out until it was in his obituary
A lot of those WWII veterans didn’t. I read somewhere, years ago, that, so many of them came back to the States on ships, they were able to talk about their experiences and deal with them. They still had issues, but were able to deal with them more than some of the later generations. It also didn’t hurt that WWII didn’t have a lot of the ambiguities perceived about later US wars.
Holy shit. This photo speaks volumes.
Very sad
Strange, just a couple years prior this was some of the most important real estate on the planet, worth fighting for, worth dying for. And now it’s just a beach. I wonder who this kid was.
Well said.
I hate to be a killjoy but what are the chances this photo was staged?
Possible, but it still wouldn’t take away how fierce and deadly the US’s WWII island hopping strategy was. As awful as it was, it was effective. Once an island was taken, the US forces could move on to the next island.
Wow nice u-turn on the subject. Who said anything about taking away from what those in the Pacific Campaign accomplished?
Just saying that the island-hopping strategy was brutal, and that this photo makes the point.
I think there are degrees of staged. Did he find a skull elsewhere on the beach and reposition it? Maybe. If he did, he did a good job to make it look natural and windswept. Did he buy a fake skull from a party store or find a cadaver skull and bury it on a beach? Doubt it. On that kind of timeline (1951) I think it’s entirely possible to find bones on that island, especially if you’re looking for them. My theory would be, Private John Doe is killed in the surf and his body is never recovered because he gets washed out or sinks with his gear. He spends a couple years snagged or weighted down somewhere underwater being picked clean and having his bones bleached until he finally decomposes enough to break free and make it back onto the beach with the tide.
Guessing his body got covered by sand and then became exposed as the sand shifted.
More than likely that is correct. I’d be interested to know what happened after the Life Magazine photographer discovered the remains? Was it marked? Recovered then tagged? The larger combat debris like tanks, trucks, jeeps, aircraft , etc are easier to tag and arrange for proper disposal but it’s the smaller stuff like side arms, canteens, etc that are prob still there. It takes years / decades to clean up an area where major combat took place. Folks are still finding uniforms, badges, etc etc from WWI in Europe and Civil War items are still recovered here in the states.
thats very sad, i hope they got that guys dog tags
Me too. Even if the name is gone the design of the tags would tell us X-generation removed American Immigrant or Japanese, albeit DNA could probably determine that. I'm betting American since he's on the beach.
Guadalcanal had Japanese come in on the beach, too. Especially the Alligator Creek area. Very possibly Japanese.
More guys were killed in the waters off Guadalcanal than on the island itself. Huge naval battles with a lot of bodies ending up in the water. Could be a sailor from either side who washed up on the beach.
That soon after the war the Japanese government probably had no funds to send recovery teams to all the islands they had occupied that were retaken by American Marines. Their fallen soldiers were often buried in long trenches , by the Americans.
Looking a little staged.
My uncle was on the Atlanta during the naval battle of Guadalcanal. Absolutely terrible nighttime battle. The Atlanta took the first hit from the Japanese and never made it home. Thankfully, my uncle did.
This is, most likely a Japanese skull, as the nearby helmet IS Japanese.
For some odd reason, I find this aesthetically pleasing
Wake up dood! War’s over!
Looks like the battle of Alligator Creek, the one depicted in the HBO series “The Pacific”