DaveM4P99

WOW - so a huge update...through some research online, I found some amazing info! The sword and pistol were INDEED confiscated from a high ranking officer on the Japanese hospital ship, Tachi Bana Maru - actually a DISGUISED hospital ship carrying soldiers and weapons. So the name of my grandfather's friend, Dr. Eugene F. Melaville, who was the "captain of the medical ship" was actually a Lt. Colonel, division surgeon in the pacific. I found this in the "US Army Medical Dept. Office of Medical History" website...below is Chapter 13, which is a "diary" like writing, very detailed, written by the late Ashley W. Oughterson, M.D: http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/actvssurgconvol2/chapter13.htm CHAPTER XIII From Auckland to Tokyo Ashley W. Oughterson, M.D. INTRODUCTORY NOTE The material in this chapter is derived from the official wartime diary of the late Ashley W. Oughterson, M.D., and is presented in substantially the form in which the then Colonel Oughterson prepared it. The original plan was for Dr. Oughterson to write this chapter, from his diary and other official papers. With his untimely death, that plan became impossible, and, since no one else possessed the information, the best solution seemed to be to use the material he had recorded during the war...(((this continues..Here is the applicable section of the diary to MY SWORD and MY Nambu pistol and how they were captured: Morotai Island, Indonesia, Tuesday, 7 August A Japanese hospital ship was captured in the Banda Sea and brought into Morotai Island, Indonesia. With Col. Hollis Batchelder of the U.S.S. Mercy to assist, I was dispatched to Morotai by special plane, arriving at Morotai at 1600 hours. We reported to Maj. Gen. Harry H. Johnson, Commanding General, 93d Infantry Division. He is National Guard from Houston, Tex., and a forceful pleasant Texan who gave us real southern hospitality, and as good a steak dinner with hot biscuits as I have ever had. Colonel Jackson is his chief of staff. Wednesday, 8 August Went with the division surgeon, Colonel Melaville [Lt. Col. Eugene F. Melaville, MC], to see the port director, Commander Harrison, who gave us permission to board the Japanese hospital ship, Tachi Bana Maru. This ship had been intercepted in the Banda Sea on 3 August. A destroyer flotilla had gone out for this purpose. Verne Lippard [Lt. Col. (later Col.) Vernon W. Lippard, MC] just came up to tell me the radio announced that the Japanese have accepted the Potsdam ultimatum. 38Medical Department, United States Army. Cold Injury, Ground Type. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1958, appendix H, p. 533. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 886 After boarding the Japanese hospital ship with a walkie-talkie [radio], they [the boarding party] found contraband and summoned an armed boarding party to take charge. There were so many Japanese (1,600) on board that they did not dare go below to search. The exterior of the ship was marked according to the rules of the Geneva Convention. The patients were sleeping on mats spread on top of the cargo, which was mostly contraband and consisted of boxes and bales that were packed with rifles, machineguns, mortars, grenades, and ammunition. Boxes were marked with large red crosses. There were no seriously ill patients aboard, and all personnel walked off the ship. About a dozen were examined on the dock and sent to the 155th Station Hospital with diagnoses of beri beri, malaria, and fever of unknown origin. There were no wounded, and there was only one surgical patient with an infected leg ulcer. The patients, about 1,500, were said to be the slightly ill. On the whole, they appeared healthy and well nourished. We visited a compound where 97 officers were interned. They were polite, said they were satisfied with their care, and that no one was sick. A visit to another compound of enlisted men showed several sick men. The chief surgeon of the ship said that he did not know that the boxes and bales contained contraband. No records were available to prove whether these had been bona fide patients before embarkation, and the confusion on shipboard was such that records could not be located. Looting by sailors undoubtedly caused part of the confusion. The ship was in a wretched sanitary condition. The stench was terrific. Clearly, this is a violation of the Geneva Convention. Manila, Thursday, 9 August Flew back. Left Morotai at 1000, arrived on Leyte at 1500 hours. AND here is a scan of the bronze star paperwork Dr. Melaville received...(we have the bronze star as well)

Thanks BazZa! That helps a lot. Thanks to everyone else for the info. I am going to start the project tonight...hopefully later this week, I will have some of the characters cleaned off enough that they are legible...but ofcourse I will take my time above all. More pictures to come...sooner or later.

Grey, Having done this on my very rusty Hizen Tadahiro tang as bad or worse than Dave's sword I don't entirely agree, more so as the sword got a Tokubetsu Hozon from the NBTHK after polish, so I must have done something right. The active, crusty red rust can - and should - be removed by crushing with a PLASTIC hammer on a wooden block. Needless to say this must be done with care. Dave, you don't need to take your sword to anybody else as you can do this yourself - BUT, BIG BUT - the process must be done with great care and caution and it is likely to take you many, many hours. You need bright light, magnifier head set, cloth to hold the bare blade (yes, do it with the blade bare) and tackle a small area at a time. Alternate plastic hammer strikes with "boning" - use the bone out of a roast leg of lamb end on and rub with oil on the rust spot, alternating these two techniques. The watchword is SLOW. You are working to remove the red, active rust. A most important point to observe (check this with your magnifier) is to not damage or crush the "chisel pillow" of the characters and strokes that are clear and unrusted. As Ford Hallam has said elsewhere on NMB, the chisels used to produce a signature on a Japanese sword tang displace metal, not remove it. So with these caveats of care, caution and infinite patience I don't see why you should not attempt this yourself. Nobody you know in your country can do it better than yourself because it is your sword. Regards, BaZZa. Sounds good, I definitely think I can do this. When you use the term "crushing" the active crusty rust with a plastic hammer, do you mean "banging" the rust off and using the hammer like it was designed to be used? OR do you mean "crushing" the rust off by "grinding" it gently and "working the rust off" with a plastic hammer? What shape plastic hammer? Round nosed I assume? Lastly, why use the bone from a roast leg of lamb? How is this different from just using a plastic hammer, and what technique do I use with this leg of lamb? Seems very strange...interesting, but strange. What other tool could be used in case? I will be carfeul ofcourse...I don't know how a plastic hammer and some mineral oil is going to damage the steel "chisel pillow" of the characters though...How would this happen? Just so I understand how I can avoid it. Thanks everyone...sounds like a fun project I have ahead of me. Hope to find out more soon.

Yeah we were always skeptical of the story...it was most likely confiscated by my grandfather's friend, the captain of the medical ship, from a wounded soldier...I guess he was the captain of the ship, he could do what he wanted! It was so long ago, there is really no way of getting the real story.

Thanks everyone. Is there anything else we can tell without reading the mei? So what does everyone reccommend I do now? I live in upstate NY as well as in New York City...so should I find someone that is qualified to clean/polish the tang? How much would this cost? Is it worth it so we can read the "mei" signature? What are the chances that the "mei" signature is ruined and unreadable? Or should I just mineral oil it up and leave it as is? Thanks.

OK sounds good...I will apply some mineral oil to the blade and tang...that's easy. Any other thoughts on the origin of the blade? I am afraid nobody (even here) will be able to determine the history of it, since the tang and "mei" signature are so rusted. I feel bad it's in such poor shape...I think it sat in a flooded basement for a long time.

Thanks for the info! If this means anything, I don't think there is a "mei" signature on the other side at all...so it is only signed on 1 side.

Oh I know better than to remove any rust...especially before I ask here. I was just thinking it would be necessary to remove the tang rust in order to see the Japanese characters. Here are some close up pics...There is an area of the tang that is fairly clean (either the handle somehow protected that area from moisture, or someone a long time ago removed some rust - which I doubt).

Hey everyone...so I got the katana dissasembled. It was pretty tricky because the handle was quite tight, but it came off with some wiggling. The next problem is, the steel under the handle, which has the Japanese characters inscribed into it, is so rusted that you can only make out a couple characters, and really you can't see them either. It is a thick rust that LOOKS flaky but it's not...I tried to scratch some off with my nail and it did nothing. Should I try to remove the thick rust somehow? Is there a chemical I should try? Will it hurt the Japanese signature markings underneath? Thanks all.

Wow thanks everyone! And according to this website http://token.cz/external/meiboku/guide/form/jiri/index.htm...it looks most like a Iriyamagata Jiri..."Named after a particular shape of woodsman's axe. It is seen on some Yamato swords, those made in the Hokuriku region, and some blades produced during the Shintô period." I am just trying to find out as much as I can without actually having access to the sword. I will start this project in a couple weeks when I am back home...I can't wait to learn more about it...even if it isn't worth much, it's fun to investigate a piece of history like this...and thanks to everyone for the info so far. And if the sword is indeed worth it, I will definitely have it refinished by a professional...I would definitely like some recommendations of who to hire for when the time comes.

I won't be able to take it apart for pictures of the Tang for another 2 weeks unfortunately. I will confirm that the Tang does have some loose rust on it. Should I not try to dissasemble it because of that? I can try to get a picture of the Tang markings without dissasembly, since the handle is mostly missing. Any advice?

Sorry...I wasn' clear...I don't believe the actual blade or tang has the royal emblem on it...just the handguard has the chrysanthemum I believe...which I am learning is simply standard WWII issue fittings for a blade.

Thanks for the replies so far everyone! I will take detailed pictures of the tang and other components in a couple weeks when I am back home, and post them ASAP. Just FYI, I do have the other half of the handguard...it is in slightly better shape than the rest of the handguard actually. I will take pics of that as well.

Oh and one last question for now...If it is indeed the sword I listed above, should I get it restored and the handle re-made or restored? How much would it cost approximately, and WHO could do it right?

I am going to need instructions on how to dissasemble this thing without damaging it...Any links with detailed photos that I could follow? I am pretty timid to take it apart myself...I see myself tugging and pulling at things that weren't supposed to be moved... I have a couple weeks to figure it out though... But I am almost positive it is one of the two swords I posted above. Will find out more when I get a chance to take it apart...

OK...through my own research, I think I have found a match...I studied each and every sword on this website (scroll down to see complete list of all Japanese swords): http://www.quanonline.com/military/military_reference/Japanese/Japanese.html WWII Japanese ARMY KATANA SWORD http://www.quanonline.com/military/military_reference/Japanese/sword_20.php Mine has the same blade, the exact same brass handguard, the same leather wrapped scabbard (except a rounded scabbard loop, not the square one shown on this one), the same brown cloth wrapping on the handle, and the same exact butt-cap on the bottom of the handle (with a lot of pearl decorations like mine, but their's has no loop going through the butt-cap's hole like mine does). Mine also has that "locking mechanism" like the one above which I just discovered. here is a close up of mine: here is a close up of the one listed on the expert website: Looks like a match...Will get better pice of tang markings soon.

Great thanks for the reply! I will try to take more close ups...I am away on business for a couple weeks and won't be able to for a little while. The Navy officer who acquired the sword and pistol during the war was named Dr. Melville. He has since passed away, but I will get his full name and rank as soon as possible...I think he was fairly high ranking since he was a Doctor, but I am not sure. I will try to find out more regarding the sinking as well but that may be tricky...I am not sure if it was a large Japanese battleship, or a smaller vessel of some kind...and I don't know if it was actually the Captain of the Japanese ship who surrendered the weapons...It was more than likely just one of the Japanese officer's on board...but as of now I have no idea. I can't wait to find out more. I am skeptical that it is worth much (not that I would sell it), but I would love to know more. Anything you can tell me before I post more pics? Thanks! Here is a slightly better exposed photo...you can just start to see the markings under the broken handle.

Hi All. I was referred to this site to get some more info about this sword/pistol combo I got recently from my grandfather... There is a great story behind this as well…My grandfather, who was in the Air force, had a best friend who was the captain of a medical ship during WWII. Long story short, the medical ship was trailing a US battle group which ended up sinking a Japanese battleship. The medical ship ended up rescuing/capturing the Captain of that sunken Japanese battleship from the water, and he was forced to surrender his officer’s sword and sidearm to my Grandfather’s best friend, who ended up giving them both to my grandfather shortly after the war. I believe they ended up sitting in a chest in a barn in Pennsylvania for decades…I think they also went through a small flood, and the sword obviously suffered a good amount of water damage…the handle was broken in half (I still have the other half), and it was all quite rusted…still VERY sharp though. You can however now read the symbols under the handle that were inscribed into the metal…telling what city in Japan the blade was made, the armory, the sword maker etc. The sword also has the Japanese royal symbol on it, the Chrysanthemum, and the handle still has a little of the small pearl decorations left on it. I am sure you all need some more info and close up pictures of the katana and tang and handguard etc. to give me any real info...I will try to take more pics soon...but I figured I would get the ball rolling and see what I could find out. Thanks for any help!