Japanese Arisaka With An Unusual Story

[texagun]

“Buy the gun, not the story.” I’ve heard that often and I believe it. However I have come across a rifle with a fascinating story and I have no intention of ever selling it. My Significant Other’s brother-in-law (Harry) recently gave me this rifle that he found in his attic when he moved from Dallas to Austin. The rifle was given to him by the widow of his uncle, Harold Thorton of Louisiana, a WWII veteran. Harry had the rifle since he was a teenager and had forgotten about it. It is a Japanese Arisaka 99 and is referred to as a "Last Ditch Rifle" because of its poor quality, and was issued to the troops in the last year or two of the war when they were losing badly. I asked Harry if he knew the history of the gun. He said Harold participated in the invasion of Guam and the invasion of Iwo Jima and survived both. That's all he knew, but he promised to call Harold's widow and find out the gun's history. A couple of nights ago he called me with a fascinating story as related to him by Harold's widow. In 1945 Harold was ordered back to the U.S.A. and was told he would be separated from the service upon his return. Two days later, the 1st Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and a few weeks later the war came to an end when Japan surrendered unconditionally. They told Harold his separation was cancelled and he was ordered to Hiroshima to help identify and dispose of the thousands of dead bodies that littered the city and surrounding area. The rifle that was given to Harry, and which Harry gave to me, was taken from a dead Japanese soldier in Hiroshima and shipped home to his wife. That explains why the Imperial Japanese Mum was left intact. If the rifle had been surrendered, it would have been ground off because it was a disgrace to surrender anything with the Imperial Mum intact. It would have been an insult to the Emperor. So the rifle has quite a history. I hope it's not still radioactive from being in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. Harold Thorton died in a car wreck in Texas a few months after returning from the war.

 

[Agsalaska]

That is freaking absolutely positively awesome.


I would not get rid of that gun under any circumstances. But It may be worth willing it back to that family on your death with a full description from you. Just a thought.

 

[tahunua001]

well as for as last ditch rifles go, yours is by far the nicest. the fixed rear sight is a dead giveaway but most of the ones I've seen either have wood buttplates no no buttplates at all, yours looks brass. yours has nice finish which shows that it was well taken care of even when it was forgotten. the wood looks good and the stock fitting is actually not bad at all. that rifle is a gem and the family history that goes with it is one of a kind. write it down for your kids when you pass it down to them.

 

[bainter1212]

That is an interesting story. That would've been a greusome job to clean up those bodies.

I doubt the rifle is radioactive.

 

[fpgt72]

Wright that stuff down....that history needs to be saved. And if you have any members in your family that you can get to open up record their stories. These small personal stories (not meaning your story is small) are the real untold history of that war that is being lost to the ages at an alarming rate.

I have a rifle with a like history, not from a family member but just an old guy. It sat next to his fireplace for 60 years, and you could not even see down the bore when he sold it to me. He would not tell me the history of the rifle, I could tell it was hard for him. He has passed now. I am sure he is with friends lost long ago, and hopefully the demons of battle are now gone from him (I do know a little about that)

 

[nbkky71]

That certainly is one of the more interesting bring-back stories I've heard. Finding provenance to back up the story would certainly be difficult.

As bainter1212 said, there's likely no residual radiation, but it would certainly be neat to run it by a Geiger counter!

The rifle looks to be in pretty good shape too. That's a keeper, for sure.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Cool story to go with a great rifle!

My grandfather (a WWI combat veteran) was on the first Red Cross team into Nagasaki after the war. He never really spoke about what he saw there, but did bring back a small ornate ceramic bowl with one side charred black. My aunt still cherishes this bowl.

By all accounts, he should have been dead within a year, but but survived until 1986- dying at 91 from heart failure. The running joke in the family is that any early tumors he had were effectively "treated" by his radiation exposure.

 

[Slamfire]

I know a living WW2 Veteran of the Pacific War. He was at Iwo, Okinawa and was part of the Japanese Occupation Force.

When his troop ship arrived at San Pedro Harbor, all enlisted men were required to open their duffle bags for inspection. He said there was a pile of grenades, mines, mortar shells that had been taken away . If the service man had a Japanese rifle he was told to get in a line and have the crest ground off. This was in California, not Japan, so with the Americans also grinding off Mum's, an all intact Mum is hard to find.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I have two with intact Mums. One Type 38 and one a Type99.....