WWII Relics and Exploration on Saipan

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers:

It is time for me to write again about my adventures while exploring, but rather than write too much about the experience I'm going to let the pictures do the talking and write information below them for those that are interested in the history or may be interested in proper identification of things. I hope you enjoy the pictures and find the information useful in your relic hunting and boonie stomps. Oh, and before I forget, these photos are taken from Naftan Point and from the public land between the two cliff lines near Santa Lourdes Shrine Saipan.  Remember to click on the pictures for a better view.

A picture of me wearing my dad's old Martin Sexton (an indi-rocker) shirt with five of the six blue WWII Japanese bottles I found.  I cannot say for certain if they were beer or wine bottles as I am finding there is a lot of misinformation out there on the internet as to their identification.  I do know that the bottle making process was different as the tallest bottles have holes near the neck where the could be opened like expensive beers from Europe.  The smaller blue ones I believe to be wine bottles that once held a simple cork.  While at this location, I also found a dark olive green bottle that is smaller and has Japanese writing all over it.  I am not sure yet what it is, but from what I have read it may be a Japanese cider bottle.  That was probably my find of the day I think.

This a WWII beer bottle from Nippon Brewery LTD of Japan.  Dai Nippon was originally founded jointly in 1906 by three different beer companies in Japan.  After the war, this beer company was bought by Asahi in 1949 and split into two major groups one that continued to produce Nippon Beer and the other Asahi. I am not sure if this bottle will be worth something someday, but perhaps it will because of its uniqueness.

Some cool sites for identification of Japanese bottles are 

Japanese Beer Timeline for Research of Dai Nippon Brewery LTD:

http://www.asahigroup-holdings.com/en/company/history/index.html

 

Great PDF Link for Proper Identification of Japanese Bottles:

http://www.sha.org/publications/technical_briefs/volume04/article_02.pdf

This is a Bireleys Soda bottle from circa 1940's. This particular bottle was most likely an orange soda bottle; however, it may also have held grape.  I couldn't find too much online about this bottle, but Bireleys produced at least 4 main products including: orange, grape, natural fruit (w/o carbonation), and milk.  I didn't really find this bottle so much as I came across a pile of bottles someone had left near the side of the road at Naftan. Since this was the only bottle of the three Bireley bottles that had the stamp still visible I took this one.  On e-bay they are selling for $4-10.  Websites that talk briefly about Bireleys are listed below:

 http://www.angelfire.com/tn/traderz/bireleys.html & 

 

http://www.usasoda.com/Bireleys.htm

View from the cliff line I was exploring near Santa Lourdes Shrine

This is a picture of one of the three/four?  gun emplacements at Naftan.  You can see the small ammunition storage bunks.  I'm guessing there would have been a huge gun in the center of each of these.  I'm really not sure what the history is behind these emplacements but seeing how well they have withstood the test of time shows Japanese skill. Concrete reinforced with re-bar. To see them in the jungle is really astonishing.  I may update this later if I find out more from American Memorial Park in Saipan.I imagine Iwo Jima as having similar heavily fortified gun emplacement designs.

I thought this was a pretty cool picture of a Japanese grenade that had been decaying where it was left.  You can see the fuse to the left surrounded by the hard metal shell.  The green,white, blue inside is the decaying T.N.T.  While watching a documentaries of WWII I learned that Japanese used all sorts of grenades and mines.  On Guam, one was so powerful it flipped a Sherman tank on its back!  This was taken at Naftan.

A bomb or at the very least some type of mortar lying in the middle of a trail at Naftan, undisturbed.

This is a bomb or large mortar shell I found split open and decaying at Naftan.  The length of this shell was at least 4 ft. long maybe longer.

A friend of mine said this structure at Naftan was located on the highest point and once held a Japanese radar dish on top of it.  To the left of this structure, not in the picture, are the remains of a fortified building that was destroyed.

This is a picture I took at Naftan Pt. On the right side of the road there is a short trail leading to this vantage point.  During the war, the Japanese must have had this exact view because just below the picture frame is a coral wall they built and while looking out at Obyan Beach you stand on large slabs that they must have used for traction.  I'm sure This would have been a great gun emplacement at one time.

Crazy picture of a butterfly at Naftan next to where my car was parked.  Turning on the flash in a dark jungle makes for a cool picture sometimes.

Saipan Time is also Guam Time:

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:

Relic Hunting/Identification & Research

Dear Friends, Family, and Readers:

     If you are new to our blog thank you for taking the time to read and learn.  Sometimes I forget that people I have never met read our blog.  While on Saipan, I often struggle to find fun things I can make my own.  Since I don't spearfish, do not have a pole to cliff fish with, and do not have animals to shoot on the island, I must do other things to keep myself busy.  If it isn't embroidery or working on my Bible devotional sports book, I am instead working on research behind relics that I've found.  One relic category that is very common on Saipan (even Managaha) is the search for WWII era glass bottles.
      During WWII, soldiers often drank lots of Coke, beer, and various other spirits.  When they finished these bottles, soldiers would often discard their bottle by throwing it into the jungle or the ocean.  The Japanese also threw bottles into the jungle or buried them as they tried to store supplies or family goods.  Occasionally passing boonie stompers (people who explore the jungle) will come across such dump sites or bottle caches.  Even construction companies and contractors come across such caches when fortunate enough.  In Duluth, MN (my hometown) we often hunt for agates at gravel pits.  I liken the search for bottles and other relics to this same treasurer hunting desire I had as a kid looking for agates in gravel pits.  Here are some of the bottles I've found and the explanations I had to painstakingly discover through research.  You'd be surprised at how many different types of glass, bottle shapes, and identification techniques that exist!  Below the pictures and their explanations are some websites I used in my research that may help you identify your own bottles on Saipan or where you live.  Happy hunting and hobby enjoyment to all!

This is the first thing needed to clean bottles I found it in the toilet section at the local Ace Hardware store. I often put all my glass bottles into a white mop bucket and fill it with water and dish soap.  Do not use Lime Away or other cleaner as it may scorch the glass (found that out the hard way).  I looked for a warning about this but did not see one on the bottle, but then again, I do have terrible eyesight haha

First lesson about relic hunting and hobbies: Don't let your hobby get between you and your wife.haha  These two bottles are made of Duraglas, which was commonly used during WWII.  As the name implies these bottles are "durable" and do not break easily.  Though these bottles look similar they were made by different companies.  The amber bottle on the left was most likely a WWII Beer Bottle.  I know this is WWII era because of the identification stamp on the bottom.  An "I" inside of an "O" with a diamond superimposed over it represents Owen's Illinois Glass Company.  The diamond was removed from bottles made after 1954.  Another indication is how the word "Duraglas" appears on the bottom.  If it is in wavy italics it was made between 1940-1963.  After 1963, the word was made using block lettering.  The green bottle on the right was most likely another type of beer bottle.  I know this bottle is from 1943 because the stamp on the bottom of the bottle indicates this.  The stamp on the bottom also has a "G" inside of a square, which told me this was made by the Glenshaw Glass Company of Glenshaw, PA.  This company existed from (1895-2004).  This company stopped production in 2004 for upgrades and was then bought out several times by various companies including the famous "Anchor Glass Ltd" (they make Pyrex).  It is now known by the name Kelman Bottles.  In the end, I kept the green bottle because I didn't need two WWII era beer bottles. The green bottle also reflects nicely in the window and has the year of production on the bottom, which I think is cool.

This bottle is what the Coca-Cola Company calls a D-Patent Coke bottle.  They are given this name by the large D-Patent numbering below the name Coca-Cola.  The reason that coke bottles were in patent dispute at this time has to do with soda marketing at the time.  Marketing wanted to make drinking soda attractive and elegant.  One of the ways to do this was use thick class, embossed lettering, and adding waves or dimples to bottles.  Interestingly enough I have not found any other WWII soda bottles on Saipan.  Perhaps Coke gave the Saipan troops free soda and so there were more Coke bottles than other types...?  I will keep my eyes peeled now that I know what I'm looking for.  Other soda bottles I saw online that had similar "elegance" were Canada Dry, 7 Up, Crush, among other brands that are both around today and are not around today.

What I would really like to find are some blue Japanese wine bottles form WWII.  In Saipan, you can find a lot of broken bottles in the jungle, but coming upon whole bottles is much more difficult.  If you are interested in doing your own research on bottles here are some of the helpful websites I found in my research that may also help you in your quest:

For identifying glass bottle stamps/embossed marks:

http://www.myinsulators.com/glass-factories/bottlemarks.html

 

For the history and further identification of glass bottles see:

http://www.sha.org/bottle/

For the identification & history of Coca-Cola bottles:

http://www.antiquebottles.com/coke/

I hope you enjoyed learning more and possibly discovering a new hobby.  

Sincerely Yours, Grant 

Time in Saipan (Standard Chamorro Time) is also Guam Time:

WWII Relic Hunting

Part 1:

American Mk. II Fragmentation Hand Grenade (Exhibit A)

This particular grenade could be a Mk. II grenade made anywhere between 1942-1945.  Surprisingly every manufacture had their own way of making these grenades.  I tried to identify which type this grenade was but could only narrow down the time period.  I managed to narrow down the time period by the fact that pre-1942 most grenades had what looks like a screw groove at the base.  This was called the filler plug.   Starting around 1942 the military started phasing the need for a filler plug out but many were still being used during the war.  This grenade does not have a filler plug groove.  It would be easier to identify if the yellow line that may have existed at the top of the grenade was still visible and not corroded away.

37mm M5 round  (Exhibit B)

This round was given to me by a friend and since they didn’t know what it was or what it was used for during the war they gave it to me as a gift in order to research its origins.  Around the base of this round is a brass identification band that reads (as far as I can read it): LDT SG-121 -1943  37mm M5.  This particular round was used in at least three vehicles during WWII.  During my research I discovered that the most likely owner of this round would have been one of the few M5A1 “Stuart” tanks that landed on Saipan as it was effective against Japanese armor.   This round did not fair so well in Europe against the Nazis.  The other two vehicles that could have fired this round are the M8 Armored car & the M3 Anti-Tank gun.  You can find pictures of these vehicles online by typing them in to Google images.

Large SL 43 Bullet (Exhibit C)

                 

These are .50 caliber bullets that came out of airplanes during WWII fighting in Saipan & I suppose .50 caliber rifles (if the troops here used them)… the SL 43 head stamp on the bottom of the round stands for the St. Lewis Arms Manufacturing Plant.

Part 2: 

.30 caliber rifle cartridge (Exhibit A)

                

      The next size down from the .50 caliber shell is the standard .30 caliber rifle cartridge.  I always wondered if that was the caliber the troops used because the shell is similar in size to the  .30-06 round I use back home for deer hunting.  It would also explain why my grandfather who was a pilot during WWII bought a .30-06 rifle when he came back from the war.  Perhaps it was what he was most familiar with during his military training.  These shells were commonly used during the war.

.303 caliber Shell Casing (Exhibit B)

     I believe this casing is a .303 shell casing, but am unsure because it did not have the style of rim of regular American made .303 shells (which are flat).  This casing has a grooved bottom, which causes me to be uncertain.  The only thing I can say is that this shell casing is just slightly shorter than the .30-06 cartridge (they appear to be almost the same in the picture) and is what shell collectors call non-corrosive.  That is why after I cleaned these shells the shell seen in Exhibit A is so dark and corroded where as the smaller shell (Exhibit B) is more shiny and polished.   Perhaps it could still be fire in a .30-06 rifle… and is just like I said a different caliber…

Spiral Wrapped Cartridge Casing (Exhibit C)

     If someone can help me identify this casing it would be most helpful for my blog information, however, on the bottom of this particular round I found the letters & number “SWCC 4” which stand for the name “Spiral Wrapped Cartridge Casing.”  This particular shell casing was extremely hard to learn about in my research.  I learned that the 4 stands for the year 1944.  A casing with SWCC on it is in a way somewhat special because during the time period of 1944 the process needed to make such a bullet was laborious. This particular casing is made of 2 to 4 separate pieces and required a lot of assembly (using dies) back then when they didn’t have fast engineered machines that can do such complex manufacturing in one process instead of three.  These bullets were made for accuracy (perhaps a sniper bullet?).  I could not find which particular gun type it belonged to, but a seasoned shell collector would probably know easily enough based on its small, sleek, non-corrosive look.  The reason there is only a 4 on the head stamp is because the shell casing was adapted by what manufacturers call a “bunter”  to be stamped with the number 4 by simply grinding away the 3 that would have belonged to the shell.  In my research I see that this was common during the war for .30-06 shells, but this shell is so small I can’t imagine it belonging to a .30-06.  It must have belonged to some other rifle a .308?  I’m really not sure.  If anyone who reads this knows, feel free to leave a comment.  Perhaps I’m wrong and it is Japanese (given the fact that their bullets are normally smaller than American bullets).  That is the best I could do in identifying this shell…

 Part 3:

.45 caliber hand gun casing (Exhibit A)

     This particular casing was probably shot out of a Glock M1911 model .45 caliber handgun frequently seen used all the way through WWII into the Korean War.  During the Vietnam war this particular hand gun changed form into the M1911A1.   

M1 .30 Carbine  Round  (Exhibit B)

     This round I believe was used in the M1 .30 caliber rifle that many soldiers used during WWII.  The rounds that I’ve collected have the head stamp PC 43, which stands for the Peters Company based out of Ohio.  The 43 represents the manufacturing year.   

Butter Knife (Exhibit C)

     I found this butter knife at the Barcinas Cannon on the island of Tinian.  I don’t believe it is military, but it definitely could be since it was found at a WWII site.  It has a manufacturing marker indent, but I cannot read it because it is corroded.  It is not American military because the kind soldiers used were heavy duty steel and had looped handles so that one could attach it to their belt or a rope if need be while in the field.  I don’t think the Japanese used such knives, but I don’t know for sure.  The knife itself is “extremely” sharp for a butter knife.  Part of me wonders if some soldier did not sharpen it to shave with during their time manning the Barcinas Cannon and trying to stop the American forces.

Part 4:

     This is an American Forces WWII Insect Repellent glass bottle that was given to me.   In researching the bottle I learned that it was an insect repellent bottle because of the manufacturing code on the back.  It is technically a size 36 2 Oz glass bottle of insect repellant (Manufacture code: DES Pat 85925) made by Skat Div. - Gallowhur Chem. Corp. Windsor Vt. for SKOL COMPANY.

Part 5:

     This is a small plastic cup of Gun Powder from both .30 caliber bullets and large .50 caliber bullets.  I had to unscrew the bullet from the casing in order to be able to ship the bullets through the USPS safely.  It is a slightly dangerous procedure as the gun powder is still ignitable if the casing has not been eroded and the bullet head is still securely attached.  Do not worry for my safety as the only thing that has happened so far to my person is the casual blister annoyance that comes from unscrewing bullets from casings.

      I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the quasi-credible research that went behind this post.  I will continue to look for WWII ordinance and relics while I remain in Saipan.  There are many places I have been told I need to hike to and search, but we'll see if I have the time to visit them. Since I cannot hunt animals in Saipan I am enjoying my times relic hunting and booney stomping with the machete. If I find anything interesting I will be sure to post it.  Most of these relics will be on my way to my parents house soon as I plan on making a WWII art project with them.  My next posts will probably be one random post with pictures from Saipan that I find amusing and one on the completion of my scuba training whenever that occurs. Again, Enjoy the history!

Sincerely, Grant

Saipan Time: