Final photos of my restored blade!

[DaveM4P99]

Some of you may remember me posting photos of an old, rusted Japanese sword…

 

The sword was given to my grandfather by his best friend, Lt. Col. Eugene Melaville, a division surgeon in the Pacific. Below is a scan of his bronze star paperwork for setting up a forward operating hospital on Peleliu Island:

 

My grandfather always told me that the sword and pistol were captured when Col. Melaville’s division sank a Japanese warship, and Col. Melaville’s HOSPITAL ship pulled the Japanese captain from the water…who then surrendered his sword and sidearm to Col. Melaville.

 

Some of this didn’t make sense to some of the Japanese sword connoisseurs when I posted pictures of the sword online…since the saya (scabbard) and the tsuka (handle) were all Japanese ARMY fittings, not Navy fittings.

 

So I started to do some online research on Lt. Col. Eugene F. Melaville, and found some archived war diaries in the US Army’s Office of Medical History that reference his name - http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs ... pter13.htm

 

The diary was written by a colleague of Col. Melaville’s, Ashley W. Oughterson, M.D…the title of his war diary was “From Auckland to Tokyo.” Pretty interesting read believe it or not, when you take it all into historical context. (In 1945, Colonel Oughterson was actually named chairman of the AFPAC group that was to participate in the Joint Commission for the Investigation of the Effects of the Atomic Bomb in Japan).

 

The mention of my grandfather's friend, Col. Melaville, came on August 7th 1945, during the story of the capture of the disguised Japanese hospital ship Tachibana Maru – Quite a famous story, or at least it would have been, if the dropping of the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima didn’t happen the day BEFORE. The Tachibana Maru was disguised to look like a hospital ship, but was actually carrying thousands of troops, weapons and munitions for a last ditch Japanese effort.

 

The diary excerpt reads as follows:

 

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

[span style=font-weight: bold]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.[/span] 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.

________________________________________

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.

 

[span style=font-weight: bold]We visited a compound where 97 officers were interned.[/span] 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. [span style=font-weight: bold]Looting by sailors undoubtedly caused part of the confusion. [/span] 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.

 

A really cool article in Leatherneck Magazine about the capture of the Tachibana Maru…one of the photos even shows a soldier holding a sword that looks just like mine - http://www.leatherneckmagazine-digital. ... &u1=friend

 

And here is a youtube video of the actual capture of the Tachibana Maru…Fast forward to the 10:30 mark and you will see some lucky GI carrying like 5 swords…

 

 

So anyway, it sounded like the story was a little mixed up…it was actually a Japanese “hospital” ship that the sword was captured from…and when Col. Melaville and Col. Oughterson were flown in, they were the ranking officers in charge, since the “hospital” ship needed to be inspected by the division surgeons first and foremost. (even though it sounds like soldiers looted the hell out of the ship anyway).

 

Being the ranking doctors in charge of the ship’s capture, and being the ones who dealt with the 97 interned Japanese officers, it sounds like Col. Melaville had the sword “surrendered to him” by the highest ranking Japanese Army officer. So this explains the Army mounts and fittings found on the blade…since all of the soldiers on board were Army, not Navy.

 

Mei:

 

Before photos:

 

 

After polish pics:

 

 

 

And photos of the hada:

 

 

 

 

Here is the blade with my 1943 Standard Products M1 Carbine:

 

 

So after the blade was polished, I decided to get the blade mounted by David McDonald.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think he did a great job.

[nagamaki - Franco]

I think he did a great job.

 

He (polisher), he who?

[DaveM4P99]

Oh I was referring to David McDonald who rebuilt the tsuka and built the saya.

 

Polisher was David Hofhine...who also did an excellent job.

[kaigunair]

I read the initial post. All I have to say is that you were the right person to end up with this nihonto. Its been saved from the rubbish heap and you have preserved a part of your family's history. I'm pretty sure we won't see this sword being sold off on ebay by an unknowing family member in 30 years....

 

[Dr Fox]

Congratulations, you have become part of this swords history, from the day it was made. Respect.

 

Denis.

[Bruno]

Nice job Dave.

 

Something has been done for the nakago?

[DaveM4P99]

Nice job Dave.

 

Something has been done for the nakago?

 

Well, the polisher helped to clean away any active rust, while preserving what was left of the mei and the file marks...so it won't be deteriorating any further.

 

It still has a lot of permanent raised pits, as seen in the photo, so I am afraid nothing more can really be done. Trying to remove the raised pits would likely damage the nakago, no?

 

And thanks everyone for the kind words. This blade will definitely remain in my family for a long time. :D

[mdiddy]

Well done! I think it looks really good in the 'new' tsuka and saya.

 

I hope you treasure it for many years.

[DaveM4P99]

Thanks everyone.

 

I really do think David Hofhine and David McDonald did a great job.

 

It will definitely be treasured.

 

So other than a light coat of oil every month or two...how often should I remove the tsuka and habaki to oil those parts?

[Grey Doffin]

Hi Dave,

A care and etiquette brochure: http://www.nbthk-ab.org/Etiquette.htm which discusses proper oiling.

You don't oil the nakago, just the polished portion of the blade.

Grey

[Kai-Gunto]

Nice to se its safe now. Congrats.

 

But IMO the tsuka isnt wide enough. It makes kabutogane looks to wide.

[tokashikibob]

Nice Job, I remember reading your post in the past and watching those TachibanaMaru videos and as you stated a story never told. I sent the video back then to a few WW2 Marine Combat Vets who are still big into history on the Pacific and they did not know about the subject. You took a risk and it payed off handsomely, Great Job! Now find another rescue!

 

Semper Fi,

Bob

http://www.okinawarelics.com

[Alex A]

Superb!, well done.

 

Alex

[hybridfiat]

This is a good example of how a restoration job can bring back what, to most people, would appear to be a hopeless case.

Well done.

[DaveM4P99]

Thanks all...I appreciate the comments. I think it turned out really great, and I am sure it will be in my family for a long time.

 

Now I want to purchase this blade...made by my sword's swordsmith's younger brother, Tegarayama Masashige:

http://www.aoi-art.com/sword/wakizashi/12239.html

 

I fear my blade is not the last or only blade I will own... :D

 

And I thought collecting guns was an expensive hobby...

[DaveM4P99]

Oh and I found this katana online, which I believe was made by the same smith as my blade : http://www.samurai-gallary.com/z001.htm

 

The mei style is spot on...even the blade's hamon and overall geometry/shape is the same as my wakizashi, no?

 

And only for $19,000 or so...wish I could afford it!

[LUIS22]

What a difference !!