Thirty Skeletons Found In Treasure Tunnel.
Yamashita’s Gold.
Since the 16th century the Philippines, named after king Philip II of Spain, a debt laden country populated by a very hard working and resourceful people, has been ruled by some of the most ruthless regimes ever known. In 1565 the Spanish conquistador Miguel Lòpez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu and set up a colony which began Spanish rule that endured until 1898 when the Philippines gained independence. 333 years of being ruled by one of the world’s greediest and ruthless regimes. The Spanish were famous for their lust for gold and silver and no doubt took tons of the precious metals from the Philippine islands back to Spain.
With a history of Spanish rule you would think the legends of buried and sunken treasures would be referring to this period but you would be wrong. The stories of buried treasures come from another time when the Philippines were ruled by another ruthless and bloodthirsty regime, that of the occupying forces of Japan during the Second World War. The Japanese were waging war on the United States, the world’s foremost industrial powerhouse and to do that they had to finance it by ill gotten gains. They systematically robbed and looted bank depositories, churches, mosques and private homes of the countries they conquered and controlled.
Legend has it that Emperor Hirohito himself set up a secret operation called “Kin Ne Yuri” the “Golden Lily” and under the direction of his brother, Prince Yasuhito Chichiba the loot was transported by ship to Japan. General Tomoyuki Yamashita took over command of the occupying forces of the Philippines in 1944; he was one of the few commanding officers that actually paid for the war crimes of his troops. Put on trial after the war he was sentenced to death and hanged on the 23rd February 1946 by the Americans. If he knew of any treasures, he took the details to his grave and so, the legend of “Yamashita’s Gold” was born.
The Japanese had created a very long gravy train that lasted until 1944 when the Americans took control of the seas and began sinking Japanese ships by submarines. It has been said that at this point that logic would dictate the Japanese would begin transporting the loot by land through territories they controlled. I have read many accounts of this treasure story and have come to some conclusions.
If this story of stolen wealth is true and let’s face it, by the following analogy it could well be. Any occupying force looking for finances will use its powers to asset strip the countries under its control, in their eyes, the end justifies the means. History tells us that by 1944 the Japanese had lost the war, and I don’t care how loyal to Japan these soldiers were, they all knew they were defeated and still the wealth was rolling in. Human nature being what it is, tells us that by this time the senior officers would be feathering their own nests. They had plenty of time and manpower to dig the elaborate tunnels and caves required to contain the massive amounts of gold and precious stones. The ruthlessness of the officers carrying out this business can only be imagined. Soldiers and civilians carrying very heavy boxes into these hiding places would have an inkling of what the boxes contained and would have to be dealt with, many were probably killed and sealed into the tunnels and caves along with the treasures. After all, it was war time and Japanese soldiers were being killed by the thousands, no-one would miss a few more.
Even the enlisted men would be pilfering a few bars of gold and burying it for later retrieval. No-one knows for certain the amounts involved, logic again tells us that the loot would be buried in many locations holding both large and small amounts of the so called Yamashita treasures, to be collected later, possibly years after the war ended. There will be masses of gold and precious stones still well hidden all over the Philippines. Many of the officers and men would never have the opportunity to profit by their well thought out plans because the nature of war means that many would have been killed or executed. I firmly believe there are hidden treasures in the Philippines, as I have explained earlier; human nature makes it a certainty.
By Cloe Diaz, staff writer Mindanao Free Press.
June 24, 2001
A treasure hunter shockingly discovered what appear to be 30 skeletons of Japanese soldiers from WWII in a section of tunnel some 125 feet underground in an excavation in the outskirts of Tugbok district, located in the southern part of Davao.
Mario (his last name withheld upon his request) found the skeletons after digging through a section of tunnel that was filled with rubble. It had apparently been blown shut by the Japanese in order to seal it. Once he had cleared away the rubble he followed the tunnel about 10 meters were he descended a cemented stairway to a large room. He was shocked to find human skeletons sprawled all over the tunnel. There were rusty helmets, rifles, bayonets and tattered uniforms to prove that these skeletons were those of Japanese soldiers who were entombed alive. Just beyond this room, the tunnel runs for about 30 meters northeast where it is again blocked by another rubble heap.
More at SiadVentures.com
A documentary detailing the Yamashita treasure story.
It seems incomplete but worth a view.
Part 2.
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