The American
Simultaneously, there was a visit by a group of 57 Japanese veterans and the
Honiara Fukuoka society being headed by General Kawaguchi's daughter. Mr. Innes
told her about 'the American' that we had found on Hill 27. We had even figured
out after phoning Joe Micek that he was in 2nd Battalion 132nd infantry and we
new his name. It was someone Joe's Company had lost on Hill 27 and his body had
not been recovered After telling General Kawaguchi's daughter about 'the
American' the Japanese made a special visit to the grave site and all 57
Japanese prayed for the soul of 'the American'
The American Marines accompanying General Paul
Henderson in the meantime arranged with CILHI that a recovery team would visit
and remove the remains. In the meantime John Innes arranged for a simple cross
to be made to mark the site and organised Father Percy the Local Catholic priest
to perform a Christian ceremony for 'the American'. It seemed appropriate. After
not hearing from CILHI for some weeks and our anxiety to establish the identity
of the American we went back into the grave site looking for a dog tag. Around
his neck was a Japanese dog tag!
Toshio Kojima
From his dog tag we were able to establish his identity. He was Toshio
Kojima of the 228th Infantry. We determined that since the Japanese had prayed
for 'the American' that the situation had become very ecumenical and therefore
Innes left the cross there and put his details on the cross. English on one side
and Japanese on the other. Very pleasingly, his 92 year old sister who lives in
Nagoya, Japan, received his dog tag and for her there was a completion of the
story of her brother. The remains of the missing American who we thought we had
found was in fact located after the battle for the Gifu was over in 1943.
The flowers you see around the grave site were
from some flowers we picked at the main Japanese memorial on Guadalcanal. Innes
put them in a bottle, and placed at the gravesite. Fittingly the flowers dropped
seeds and germinated and now grow around the grave.
In 1996 a Japanese bone recovery team did take
some bones from the grave. Some of his bones became part of a bone burning
ceremony at the Japanese memorial. The grave however still has some of Toshio's
remains.
