Well, being that today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor...the event that brought the US into the second world war. I thought I would share a piece of family history that has been handed down to me. On December 7, 1941, my grandfather (whom I am named after) was on a troop ship heading to Baatan in the Philippines where he was to be stationed. I believe the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred a little more than a week into his journey. Following the attack, the ships in his group were turned around and set elsewhere to prepare for the events to become. My grandfather ended up fighting in the Pacific throughout the duration of the war with the 25th Infantry Division. When he was sent home, he had served for over 2 years in combat and was well decorated including earning a Silver Star during the retaking of the Philippines. He passed away a couple years before I was born so I never met the man. My dad always spoke very highly of him. One day, my dad was going through some papers and he found a few notes that my grandpa had acquired while in the Army. Being a collector, he felt I was the member of the family who would appreciate them the most. So, he gave them to me. They're in rough shape and not worth anything to anyone else...but they are very special to me. So, here are those notes:
wow, that last one's seen better days. but a great piece of family history! thanks for sharing (also, do you know why there's so much tape on it?)
Yeah, the last one is in pretty bad shape. My understanding with that one is that one was taken off a Japanese soldier that had been killed. As for the tape, no idea. These notes are pretty torn and it appears to be holding them together. They aren't all ripped, but appear to have become very limp at one time and were taped to keep them in one piece. I haven't messed with the tape...it has been long there longer than I have been alive and IMHO is best left alone.
I have to say that the personal history attached to these notes far out weighs the condition of them, what I would do personaly is frame them with if you have it a pic of your Grandfather. Thanks for sharing them with us :bow:
I have a 10 peso note just like yours that I believe was brought home by my father. Only where yours says PD in red, mine says PE. Where can I find out more about this note?
That story... and those notes, are by far some of the best I've seen. A note with personal history as such far out weighs other generic, all be it pristine, notes. Can you imagine the events and battles your grandpa saw. The adventure he was actively involved in and lived to talk about. Wow. thanks for sharing!
Interesting comment about the tape.... I too have a set of notes that my dad brought back from the Philippines and a couple of them are tapped in the same way, including some Australian notes. Although clear, it does not appear to be 'Scotch Tape' as we know it. It is wider and very thin. Can anyone shed any light on the tape or the taping? Many look like they had been folded twice (into quarters) and possibly carried in a wallet to the point that they broke on the folds and had to be 'mended'. Also find it interesting that the bills are printed in English, stating that they are Japanese Government notes, in a country that spoke Spanish (or a derivative of Spanish).
Quote: "Also find it interesting that the bills are printed in English, stating that they are Japanese Government notes, in a country that spoke Spanish (or a derivative of Spanish)". The U.S. was the government in control of the Phillipines, having taken possesion of them from the Spanish, after the Spanish-American war. They were granted their independence from the U.S. on July 4, 1946
That's some story and grandfather, Richie. You take good care of those notes. They look like they've been through Hell and back probably because they have and in more ways than one. :thumb:
All very true, however, this is Japanese Occupancy money, during the war and during a time that there was very little English spoken in the Philippines. There are (and were) numerous dialects of Spanish spoken in the islands, depending on which island you were on, zone, etc., but the Japanese Government printed the bills in English. It just strikes me as very unusual even though it was a US territory. Dad's outfit (863rd Army Engr Btn - USAAF / 5th Air Force -- builders of Clark Air Base) had a young (then) boy that did their interpreting for them. He was learning English in school but also spoke several dialects of 'Philippino'. That young boy survived the war, and went into the US Navy (E-8) for 20 years (using our address as his US home). I don't want to steal the thread here. Camaro's grandfather went through hell to bring these home, as did my dad and all our troops in the islands. I just find it interesting, having been there myself and having been stationed in Japan.... It is one of those unanswered mysteries of the war. I was in hopes that somebody here might know the answer.
The currency used in the pre-WWII Phillipines was U.S. supplied, and the coins minted, and bills printed, in English. I would guess the Japanese simply did the same, to reduce confusion. You may find these sites informative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_peso#Second_World_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_government-issued_Philippine_fiat_peso
Thank you SC... I found them very informative. Found a couple in my collection that are slightly different than those shown in the articles... Will look into them to see if I can 'date' them a little closer. They are 1 and 10 peso notes (large) that have the same scene on them as is on the small 50 centavos notes (1942 Series). CamaroDMD's 10 peso note is an example. Thanks again, I learned allot.
The Japanese set up a puppet government in 1944. The notes printed by the Japanese for the puppet Republic of the Philippines were printed in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines.
There are a lot of people in my family like that and I'm very proud of it. Part of me has always been a little ashamed that I didn't follow in that tradition of service.
