Relic Hunting Finds & History

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers:

I have had a few people ask me what I have been finding on my long treks through the jungles of Saipan, so I felt it was time to write again.  When I was a young boy, I always wanted to be an archaeologist.  In Saipan, I get to do a little hiking and a little digging, which makes me feel like I am somewhat reliving my childhood.  I am reliving my childhood because as a young boy I would dig up stuff in my back yard and the funny thing was...I found bones!  While in Saipan, I enjoy digging up things other than bone.  After finding old relics, I like to look up the meaning and origin of the things I find.  Here are some of those finds and the history behind them.  If you are someone in Saipan who is bored and doesn't mind hiking, getting cut up, and sweating profusely in the jungle feel free to tag along on one of my outings.  I hope you enjoy the pictures and the history!  

Large battery I found along the cliff line just above the water at Obyan Beach... originally it was stuck between two trees , but I moved it to get a better picture.  It was really heavy.

Insignia on the battery labeling it U.S. made.

Small Amber Colored Owen Illinois- Abbot Lab bottle: Probably circa 1940’s-50’s possibly used during WWII to hold a new form of anti-infective penicillin as Abott Lab was 1 of 5 to be enlisted by the government to do so in 1941.  My mom thought it might be a bottle for iodine, which seems perhaps more plausible.  Either way this bottle would make for a great gift for someone who collects miniatures.  I saw a seller on e-bay selling one for about $10...

This is a D51 Mason Jar Lid Liner.  I grew up with my mom making canned peaches and pears and was under the impression that all canning jar lids were metal.  In the early days, however, they used porcelain liners.  When I found this lid, it was attached to a Mason Jar and the tin lid was attached.  Unfortunately the tin lid broke in my back pack due to rust and degradation. It could have been a collectors item... I may still be able to see the lid to someone who needs it for their collection as they don't make these anymore.

 This is a picture of a large Brushless Shave, Mennen Jar from 1943.  During the war, the troops needed tin for various goods the troops used.  Mennen started to market shaving cream to men in jars at this time in order to conserve and help the war effort. Below is a link to a color archive I found online that shows the Mennen product displayed in a helpful wartime ad:

http://gogd.tjs-labs.com/show-picture?id=1138819668&size=FULL

Possible medicine bottle WWII the patents was taken out before the war in 1931.  When I found this bottle, it had no dropper attached as it had probably been broken in the jungle or disintegrated over time. On the bottom of this bottle is a flag and USA.  The glass bottle also has two small raised circles on one side. I’m not sure what kind of bottle this is.

This bottle is a mystery to me.  It is, however, one of my prized finds because the cap is still attached.  The bottle is extremely small only as tall as my pinky.  I have a hunch that it may be a possible poison bottle due to the three X's on the outside.

This is a WWII TL-122-B Flashlight I found in a poor state of affairs.  During WWII, there were three flashlight types made. There was an earlier "A-Model" that was metal and is probably more valuable.  This model was very common in 1943 and was notorious for a foul smell that came from the plastic.  Perhaps the plastic is the prime reason this model is in as good a shape as it is... 

Saipan Time is also Guam time:

World War II Relic Hunting Update

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers:

As many of you know, I enjoy hunting for WWII relics and I thought I would share some of my pictures from various adventures.  The photos for this particular blog entry are from various locations around Saipan.  The bottle was found in the jungle near Obyan Beach.  The fragment of a Japanese grenade and the fuse cap were found in the jungle off the road that leads to Naftan Point.  There are plenty more of these where this came from.  Last, but not least, the picture of a pile of ordinance that I stacked up for a photo was taken at the old munitions dump (a.k.a. FEBC radio towers cliff line in Marpi)  Even though it has been swept by professionals hired by the government there is still a lot of munitions lying around, which can be very dangerous.  I hope you enjoy the pictures and their explanations.  Remember to click on the pictures to view them in enlarged fashion.

Sincerely,

Grant

One of the things that has come in very handy in my collecting of relics is Muriatic Acid.  This liquid is highly poisonous and the fumes are easily enough to make you light headed.  You know the bottle is dangerous when it has a skull and crossbones on the outside and each time you take off the cap vapor comes out.  This liquid is often used for cleaning swimming pools and easily eats away at most metals.  If a grenade or piece of metal is too rusted, this liquid will eat away at the rust and grime.  When the relic has spent enough time in the liquid, I bathe it in WD-40 to protect it from further corrosion.  Always put this acidic liquid in a plastic container with water i.e. a Maxwell House coffee container.

These are some strange pilings I found embedded into the earth at Obyan beach shoreline between Obyan and Naftan.  I'm not sure what they were used for or what may have existed at this point.  I have yet to extend the trail I've been cutting further down the beach.

This is a WWII sanitation bottle used for hygiene. I found the bottle in the jungle off of Obyan Beach.  It could have also been an old 40's motor oil bottle.  Either way I found the patent for the bottle on Google patents at: 

http://www.google.com/patents?id=QFNpAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=Des+94231&hl=en&ei=Fa_RTtjYIYmRiAKYv9WdBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Des%2094231&f=false

The bottle was patented by Glenn A. Mengle of Brockway, PA on Jan. 1, 1935.

This is what I believe to be the base of a Japanese hand grenade from WWII.  Japanese grenades were rather large and had a lot of steel on the outer shell.  Unfortunately they were not made as well as American grenades and you rarely find the outer shell in tact due to corrosion.  So, if you think this grenade doesn't look like a grenade that is because the rest of it has rusted away or been blown off.

This is the other view of the grenade.  The reason I wanted to show this view of it is as a warning to fellow seekers. I've been told that the circular ridge you see as a barrier between the center circle and the outer hexagonal shell is actually old T.N.T. The inner circle is a stick of dynamite that either didn't light or has been exposed after countless amounts of corrosion.  I've been told that this T.N.T. is still viable.  The government needs to clean this stuff up because a person with the knowledge to do so could carefully drill a hole into the stick of dynamite and insert a fuse.  I found this fragment of a grenade on the road leading to Naftan Point in the jungle. They were scattered all throughout the jungle.

These are my trail markers if you ever see an orange trail marker with a black cross you can say that Grant Fifield has been there on Saipan, MP.

This is a pile of ordnance that I collected one day while exploring the cliff line at the FEBC radio tower facility that is soon to be closed down. In the front of the pile are many pieces of American grenades and to the left large shell casings that had exploded along the cliff line as American forces pushed toward their goal of Suicide Cliff in Marpi.

Saipan Time is also Guam time: