WWII Japanese Suicide Cave

[olentangy74]

My uncle was on Saipan with the Sea Bees during the war. While stationed on Guam in 76/77, I visited Saipan twice. A WW2 buffs dream. I would love to visit again someday. I noticed that with all the pictures and video of human remains, you never show skulls. Is this out of respect for the dead?

[SaipanPictures]

@olentangy74 Hi Olentangy. Often times the skulls are broken into little pieces.

[counterstrikenerd321]

They need to bury these guys.

[SaipanPictures]

@counterstrikenerd321 Actually they will be cremated... eventually.

[IsengardMordor]

İ need to learn the exact location of this cave.Can anyone please help me? İ will take pictures in order to make my ww2 archive bigger.Also i can get clues about the life of ww2 japanese soldiers.Also,is there really LİVE GRENADES there?

[TheCaferocker]

Wow dude I hardly ever watch video's over a couple minutes long but your video's are very interesting... like a youtube version of Indiana Jones.

[SaipanPictures]

@TheCaferocker Thanks Caferocker.

[burnoutking1971]

Well done, I like the fact that you leave the items there in the cave and are carefull not to step on things and disturb them. Good videos, I did check your other ones too. Next time I go home to Philippines I will make some video. Also I know some cool spots there.

[BoyJewish]

@wilatemodel How so?

[BoyJewish]

Nicolas Cage was amazing on Saipan! He killed half the Japanese Army!

[BoyJewish]

Where any of the Japanese soldiers jewish?

[SaipanPictures]

@BoyJewish I don't think so.

[kicknbazz1615]

That cave is probably haunted!!!

[SaipanPictures]

@kicknbazz1615 It should be but I didn't see anything. Perhaps the ghosts are hiding because they know I'm a Marine.

[IonOtter]

I was going to say, "Auwe messing with bones!", having spent time in Hawai'i. Kanaka Iwi Ma'oli, or "ancient bones" are very sacred, and should never be touched. But if you're helping the Bone Collectors, then blessings be upon you. May they rest in peace.

[reddyprodections]

Are those ashes everywhere sad that it happened

[MrPorktoast]

did you find anything other than shoes and grenades? sure it werent just a cobbler who had run out of buissness and decided to end it all?

[m16nut1]

why is his bubby pickin up fingers and puting them on the wall

[SaipanPictures]

@m16nut1 So that the Japanese bone collectors can find it easier.

[michaelberryakabez]

damn that must have been messy with finger and back bones on the wall

[ekatkale888]

is your hand bleeding?

[SaipanPictures]

@ekatkale888 Probably. It is easy to get cuts in caves.

[imaginator]

ewww how ould you go into the cave where the japanese soldier's bodies rotted. You are breathing in their fumes

[SaipanPictures]

@imaginator For many years after WWII that was true and people got sick when entering the caves. 70 years is more than long enough.

[Mr420ways]

what is kind of sad is in these caves there is un spent grenades and probly morters,.that you just proved anyone could find. my point is people are stupid and try to take shit home as "souvineers" all it would take is a nice ""thump""to one of the grenades and blamo there goes yer day

[fordwillkillyou]

Where is all of there helmets or weapons? Already stolen?

[SaipanPictures]

@fordwillkillyou Perhaps. There should be a lot of stuff buried in the soft dirt as well.

[undertakerRach]

A photo has displayed at the Nanking Massacre Museum. The caption said, "The Japanese rounded up thousands of women. Most of them were gang raped or forced into military prostitution. But this photo appeared in the Asahi Graph, a weekly photo journal, published in Japan on Nov 10, 1937, about one month before Nanking battle. The explanation says, "A group of women and children from the Rising Sun Village returning from the fields, guarded by our soldiers."

[dragon3600000]

1:00 theres a moan

[willhahn]

I take it there aren't any/many archaeologists that are interested in these caves? In most places, what you're doing might be considered disturbing historical sites. Do they not have any laws against such things there in Saipan? Not tryhing to indict you, just pointing this out and wondering.

[SaipanPictures]

@willhahn There's no archaeologists and no money in the foreseeable future to hire any. There doesn't even seem to be any interests in the topic. I feel that it is important enough to document the history that remains in the caves. Soon it will be gone and forgotten.

[masterchieffan20]

The japenese resorted to commiting suicide. As they said commiting suicide his more honorable then being taken in to enemy hands

[ProjektRenegade]

i love your explorations your a talented and knowledgeable explorer with great videos ive subscribed to you channel and hope to see more of your work great job friend

[SaipanPictures]

@ProjektRenegade Thanks Projekt. You're very kind.

[Nervejunktion]

@ProjektRenegade

I love your comments your a really nice person with great things to say.

I'v subscribed to you and hope to read more of your kind words:)

[LittleBigVathole]

listen real close around 2:46 you could hear someone moaning

[RedLakeNation2009]

ya i hear like talkin in tha back round i didnt kno if anyone else was with u?

[TheNorvs]

i watch this clip and i hear something a jap scream so clearly...try to watch and you can hear the scream

[MrGraham626]

@TheNorvs at what part!! i would like to know :(

[441rider]

Moving dead people last remains is heavy bad mojo man, any native Canadiian remains touched is big law trouble. Respect for the dead is key I guess, no matter what the stupid politics.

[SaipanPictures]

@441rider In Saipan we had bone collectors to find and retrieve all bones they could find. The bones were then put in a pile and cremated.

[IsengardMordor]

@SaipanPictures did you find dog tags among the pile of bones? İ am asking this because i need to know that atleast some MİA have been found.Also if you remember can you give me these= 1.The finding place of skeletons,2.The appearent cause of death,3.The names on the dog tags (if found).

Currently i am making a project of documenting WW2 & WW1 soldiers,and writing their stories.İt is a way to remember them for me.Thats why i request these.Thank you.

[SaipanPictures]

@IsengardMordor Hi IsengardMordor.

1. The skeletons are in almost every cave.

2. The cause of death: most likely explosion, bullet, or suffocation.

3. Names: could be any one of the 23,000 missing Japanese in Saipan.

[IsengardMordor]

@SaipanPictures İ have a project that is to be made in 3 steps=

1-To gather every single skeleton & relic i find and put them in body bags after identifying them.

2-All of the identified remains will be sent to Japan,while all of the rest will be cremated.

3-All of the artifacts will be given to the local museums after being documented & restored

İs there any way that i can do this with support

3-

[GangstaThug15]

@441rider Let The Man make his videos in peace

[GaijinGDB]

Rather sad, dying in some godforsaken place, forgotten...

[JinKazama92]

Wow.

Are'nt you afriad of these caves? i mean, they could be very well haunted and stuff! D:

[SaipanPictures]

@JinKazama92 Actually I would like to see a ghost or have something strange happen. So far nothing.

[anonymoususerindenve]

You generally do a good job of that, but please please please people....put stuff back where you found it, in the same spot, same position.

thanks for posting the videos, and keep emphasizing the importance of not disturbing things!

[anonymoususerindenve]

Do you know the term "in situ"? It's what archeologists need in order to really put the things in the caves in proper perspective. when you move the bones all over and you move the items, then a professional, even if it's 200 years from now, won't know what you did. Please stop moving stuff around in the caves. Look, don't touch, or put it back exactly where you found it.

[SaipanPictures]

@anonymoususerindenve Normally that is my practice but you don't know the correct protocol for Saipan. What I am suppose to do is put all those bones in a bucket and take them to a Japanese religious figure. He would then say a prayer and cremate the bones. In fact, in the past I was contacted and asked to be a bone collector. I declined and didn't want to offer the location of these caves so someone else could collect the bones.

[SaipanPictures]

@anonymoususerindenve As far as an expert archaeological dig, wont happen. These people blew up and died the same as 57,000 others during the Battle of Saipan.

[GangstaThug15]

@anonymoususerindenve how about you mind your own busniness??

[SweStuff94]

hard to belive that 1 nade did all that

[SaipanPictures]

@SweStuff94 There may have been more than 1 grenade explode. Only 1 grenade remained unexploded. Perhaps it was a dud or perhaps no one was left to use it.

[SweStuff94]

@SaipanPictures yeah ok :) but still wers the skulls? i have lokkt on some of ur vids but i have never seen anny heads, how come

[Schone23666]

Thanks for the video. But please, do be careful in those kinds of environments. Those munitions lying around, while old, doesn't make them any less dangerous, in fact more so. The worst is what you don't see. I remember the warning signs everywhere when I visited Verdun in France.

Appreciate you sharing this, but it's not worth getting killed or injured over. Stay safe.

[SaipanPictures]

@Schone23666 Thanks Schone. Being careful is always good advice around here. I know how to stay safe around the ones that you can see but, as you mentioned, the ones buried just below the surface are the dangerous ones.

[TheForever121]

@SaipanPictures did the americans and japanese have similar designed grenades or were they just opposite?

[SaipanPictures]

@TheForever121 The two grenades are completely different. The American grenade is nicknamed a pineapple because it looks like a smaller version. The Japanese grenade looks like a tin can with a round thing sticking out of one end.

[SweStuff94]

@SaipanPictures dident see ur coment before i wrigte i new one sry, nevermiend this last comets

[Schone23666]

@TheForever121 It's important to note the Japanese grenades apparently had a habit for being finicky. To operate a Japanese grenade, one had to typically pull the safety pin, then strike the fuse itself against a hard surface like a rock or helmet, then throw. Problem was, the fuses weren't always reliable as they used a not-so-reliable spring and could in some cases prematurely detonate! =O

[SweStuff94]

@Schone23666 thats bull. give me a ling that says that!

[romanlegions]

@Schone23666 Well production really went badly for the Japanese towards the end as the Americans targeted them where it hurts. So they had to use inferior materials and poor workmanship as the war progressed. Having said that, IJA army equipment was infamous for its shoddy construction. Most of its resources went towards its navy and air-force rather than the land army.

[Schone23666]

@romanlegions Very true. Another factor that apparently didn't help the Japanese was that many of their small arms designs were not very well thought out and apparently had mixed results in the field (this isn't to say they were all failures). Although it would make sense that resources would be allocated toward the Navy and Air Force, you still need well armed and well trained troops to hold the ground obviously, or islands in this case.

[romanlegions]

@Schone23666 IJA equipment bordered on the obsolete with many firearms and artillery were produced during the Russo-Japanese war at the dawn of the 20th Century! The resources in-fighting didn't help either with its many different branches of the military fighting for resources. Despite such material deficiency, they managed to hold on and fight for every inch of land they occupied.

[99redrain]

Excellent find!

[SaipanPictures]

@99redrain Thanks.

[ClarenceBoddicker87]

Cool Video Thanks for Posting. Did you find any weapons, ammo or gear like Helmets in that cave, other than Grenades? I wonder if the Japanese Military gave the Civilians Grenades to commit suicide with? The Japanese Military Leaders in Tokyo told Civilians that the US GI's would rape then kill the females & eat the kids. Told them they would join a higher caste in death by suicide. After war they denied that ever said that. No War Crimes there? How sad. What do the Memorials on Saipan say?

[SaipanPictures]

@ClarenceBoddicker87 Thanks Clarence. I didn't find any other military artifacts in this cave. There may have been only one or two Japanese military in this cave and the rest could have been civilians. The memorials here are mostly from the modern Japanese so, as you could guess, nothing negative is mentioned.

[whoisjmac]

Thank you for bravely entering these caves to provide this footage, very interesting.

[SaipanPictures]

@whoisjmac Thanks Jay. I enjoy exploring caves.

[clprsn1]

How did you get authorization to enter that cave??

[SaipanPictures]

@clprsn1 None needed.

[marines16301]

you werent allowed to keep anything?

[SaipanPictures]

@marines16301 I take only pictures, leave only sweat and blood.

[IsengardMordor]

@SaipanPictures Thanks to your kind of people,i have the chance to see these relics in their original place.Thank you for this.

[SaipanPictures]

@IsengardMordor Thanks IsengardMordor.

[Drakka100]

Is that on Iwojima or okinawa?

[SaipanPictures]

@Drakka100 Neither. This is Saipan.

[Drakka100]

@SaipanPictures LOL i just heard the video say saipan just as i wrote the comment, i thought i had deleted it

[MAKER6450]

wow!

are you the first person in there since ww2?

[SaipanPictures]

@MAKER6450 Hi Maker6450, Normally I often see evidence of someone having been places before me but not this cave. Given its location, there is a good chance that very few people, if any, have been there since WWII.

[Chester2929]

Hi, good seeing your video today. T.

[SaipanPictures]

@Chester2929 Thanks Chester.

[urchin76]

Hi Eric,I love watching your vids,to be honest Ive missed them over the last few weeks,,so its great to have you back posting them.However I must say-I think you do them with a great dignity and quietness.I watched this vid and it really hit home that these were real people real lives(something I must admit I forget sometimes when doing research)The tank battle vid was excellent and this is just as good.Thanks Eric,,keep posting,,but never change your style.Kindest regards Graham

[SaipanPictures]

@urchin76 Thanks Graham, you are very kind. Every once in a while I find something that makes me stop to think, like a baby's shoe. Japanese soldiers were not the only ones in these caves. The soldiers took charge of the Japanese civilians on island and led them to the caves of Saipan and, towards the end of the battle, the Japanese soldiers committed mass murders.

[MilesAtSea]

Keep a eye out for Japanese dog tag's they look like this.

diggerhistory(DOT)info/images/­uniforms5/jap-tag-ww2(DOT)jpg

[SaipanPictures]

@MilesAtSea That would be a great find. I'm not sure if the tin would survive 66 years in the damp, salty air of the caves. Although I heard one was found on the beach years back and they were able to track down and give it back to its owner still alive in Japan. He was one of the very few Japanese to surrender.

[MilesAtSea]

@SaipanPictures Not made of tin the original Japanese dog tag where made of a type of brass some of which mined in China was vary corrosion resistant with a high zinc alloys.

[SaipanPictures]

@MilesAtSea That should survive but probably buried under a thin layer of dirt. I try not to do any digging anywhere in Saipan. You will find something but probably a bomb or hand grenade.

[MilesAtSea]

@SaipanPictures That's true about digging that should be left up to archaeologists.

[SaipanPictures]

@MilesAtSea and uxo experts.

[romanlegions]

@MilesAtSea There were a few made out of wood or bamboo actually, perhaps the units that could not acquire the standard issue ones?

[SaipanPictures]

@MilesAtSea Found one. Actually my friend found it in his backyard but he let me keep it for awhile to do some research on it:

flickr.com/photos/saipanpictur­es/5050072663

[MilesAtSea]

@SaipanPictures That's a Good one look around some more over were it was found there maybe more,...

[MilesAtSea]

@SaipanPictures I heard that some times they would put in a stack 1 of the 2 Dog Tags before doing a suicidal banzai charge on a make shift Shinto Shrine (the state religion at the time) in the shape of a cuboid or rectangular rock for a altar-like structure as if it was an Offering (as in offering them self as soldiers to die for the Emperor) I would say look for Saki and Beer bottles around the area the dog tags where found.