Long time Singaporean collector of World War One and Two militaria from both Axis and Allied nations.

Living historian with 'Syonan Reflections'.

Husband, educator, friend and ex-soldier too.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Wartime Photos of Chinese / Korean / Japanese / other Asian soldiers

Being Chinese myself, I have always been facinated with the possibility of finding Asians in German service. I embarked on this research since 1997 and thanks to the numerous sources and assistance, that this photo gallery is possible.

These are actual and original wartime pictures depicting Chinese, Korean and Japanese soldiers in German service.

Among the minorities of Russian conscripts and volunteers, there are still some unique individuals from many unexpected Asian countries that filled the German ranks. The following photographs show these men from Asian countries like China, Japan, Korea. But one must be cautioned that some of these men came from varying ethnicities and lived along the borders of China and Russia.

Every effort has been taken to provide an accurate photo caption. Please click the thumbnail for a bigger picture.



Highly debated photos



Asiatic Heer soldats captured on D-Day by American troops.

It is highly possible that the heer soldats squatting down in the 1st pic are the three much debated " Korean " soldiers captured by the US troops during D-Day given their asiatic features. I also recalled Stephen Ambrose's book stating something like that. Any further info is appreciated to confirm this picture!



Captured possible Japanese Heer soldat ( Far Left )
being interrogated by the US troops

Updates! According to a Korean SBS documentary (Our website was featured in this doc!) uncovering about Koreans in German service and from the US Archives there is an official caption for this photo:

2391

From:
Public Relations Division
U.S. Coast Guard
Washington, D.C.

OFFICIAL COAST GUARD PHOTO

JAP IN NAZI UNIFORM CAPTURED

Dismay and lonliness is written on the face of this
young Jap,
wearing a Nazi uniform and snapped by a Coast Guard
combat Photographer in a roundup of German prisoners
on the beaches of France. The Jap is giving his name
and number to an American Army captain.

**rbp**



Asian soldiers captured on D-Day






The above photos document just some of the many asiatic soldiers / volunteers captured on D-day. Note the easily recognisible Asian features. I am sure the British / American troops would be surpirsed to find these non-German soldiers there.



Above photo: Captured Turkmenistan volunteer ( In suspenders and round neck pullover) in Normandy 1944. Note sharp "asian" features.

Photo courtesy of : OstBattaillion


Three captured Heer soldiers during Operation Market Garden in 1944 included an Asiatic soldier of possible Mongolian Origin ( 1st man from Left )



Turkmenistan volunteers Note sharp "asian" features and web belts worn.

Photo courtesy of : OstBattaillion




The two photos above are very intriguing as it shows what seems to be Japanese army officers in Germany or prehaps German occupied area on attachment to observe their military tactics etc. Note their unusual sleeve shields on the right side of the tunic. I would personally love more information on these guys.


Very interesting picture of Hungarian soldiers / volunteers that includes a true chinese soldier being awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class!! Other information about this picture is still unknown.


Chiang Kai Shek's son Chiang Wei Guo (1916 - 1997)

Chiang Wei Guo studied at several universities, including Soochow University and National Chiao Tung University, but did not complete his education at either school.

Chiang Kai-shek had sent his eldest son, Chiang Ching-kuo to the Soviet Union to study, but it became impossible for him to send Wei-kuo there after the KMT violently ended its alliance with the Chinese Communists in the Shanghai Massacre.

Consequently, he sent Wei-kuo to Nazi Germany for military training instead. During his time in Germany, he served as a Lieutenant commanding a panzer tank during the 1938 Anschluss with Austria. Afterwards, he returned to China and quickly rose through the ranks through his father's connections. He became a major at 28, a lieutenant colonel at 29, a colonel at 32, and major general at 34.

For further reading: Wikipedia


Chiang as an officer candidate in the Wehrmacht.
The shoulder boards indicate the rank of Unteroffizier.




Other unidentified pictures of Asian soldiers -
Any info would be greatly appreciated!


D-Day casualty?



Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Lost Chapters - The Forgotten Soldiers (Part 1)


A great start for the new year.

Mediacorp Channel 5 will be screening an Info-ed about Singapore's first soldiers. I look forward to understand more about these men, and also to critique about the uniforms and gear portrayed. =-p


Screening details: 14 Jan, 2010. 7:30Pm on Channel 5.


Sypnosis:


Lost Chapters - The Forgotten Soldiers (Part 1)

The Forgotten Soldiers is about Singapore's first soldiers. A forgotten story of brave men, who answered a call to arms when many had yet to call Singapore home. In Episode 3 of Lost Chapters, we look at the story of Song Ong Siang and Lim Book Keng, two stalwarts in the Peranakan society who lobbied in the early 1900s to form the first local volunteer force.

In this lesser known story, we reveal a story of patriotism, loyalty and willingness to fight and die for Singapore. In During that time, the mettle of the first company of soldiers is tested during the Sepoy Mutiny and World War 1. The story transits to World War 2 when a new breed of volunteers lead by Captain Yap Pheng Geck, fights for Singapore.

Info from: http://5.mediacorptv.sg/tvguide.aspx?kw=tvguide

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Debut of 'Interesting Oddities'...



Well, I do not really know how to classify this page. You see, I surf lots on the Internet and frequently discover very interesting / amusing / captivating (depending on your own vocab) photos.


Before I had this blog, I kept all these inside my harddisk. Therefore, I would not really remember the credits or source of these photos. But I will do my best to credit and caption these photos.

Please note that 'one man's honey may be another man's bittergourd' concerning the photos posted.

Here we go!

German soldaten came in all sorts of heights!

Outtake from the Tom Cruise movie 'Valkyrie'


Modern handycam + Waffen SS reenactor = Anachronism!


Every NS man's dream! But this Kiwi was used as a
'paint' to 'blanco' British web equipment as camouflage or to render it a clean appearance.
Oh, does whitening our school BATA shoes ring a bell?


Skunky hitler toy.

Lots of battlefield dug German WW2 General Assault Badges and Drivers Badges!


A badly twisted German Black Wound Badge - Perhaps from sharpnel or a bullet.

Japanese and Indian volunteer in the German army during WW2
(Source: French website)

Ground dug Nescafe coffee can which reminds me of Kopi-Gao
(Source: Wehrmacht Award Forums)

The presumably mother bear looks angry while feeding its cub on the label.
(Source: Wehrmacht Award Forums)

Shopping at Nakata Shoten (Ueno, Japan, 2006)


Nakata Shoten is a military clothing and equipment shop located in Tokyo, Japan. It is this shop that supplies WW2 Japanese army militaria for the filming of many big WW2 movie names, including one that starred Ken Watanabe.

I had the rare chance of physically entering the shop during a trip in 2006. Trust me, for WW2 collectors like myself, this shopping equates to one shopping in a Louis Vuitton boutique.

Read on below to see how to get there (The info is from a forum posting by myself).
Mina-San,

Some of you may recall that I seeked advice on thewhereabouts of militaria shops for my recent trip toJapan.

Well, I managed to find the all famous and always spoken about Nakata Shoten militaria shops...Yes, Ifound and "invaded" them both.

Directions on how to go there:

Firstly, I had a splendid seven day stay in Hokkaido. Ate a lot of seafood and played a lot of snow. Then Iwent to Tokyo...

Ok, get on the Japan Rail (JR) system on the YAMANOTE line. You can't get lost as this line igoes in a circular fashion around Tokyo itself. Both Nakata shops are closely located near to UENO station. Alight there and exit by the "CENTRAL EXIT". Once out on the main road, cross the main street into the UENO FLEAMARKET area. If you walk straight for about 3-5 mins,you can find the Tactical Nakata shop directly under the railway line.

Hard to miss. Tactical shop pic with me proudly posing there:

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/Sturmannlee/DSC02601.jpg

For the WW2 Nakata outlet, it's located on theleft-hand side and adjacent of the Tactical shop. Thisrequires about 3 more of walking time.

The WW2 shop is situated along an alley but the storefront is rather messy...

WW2 shop pic:

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/Sturmannlee/DSC02605.jpg

I then spent 45 mins rummaging through their stuff. The staff is quite friendly there, but they were mostly occupied with paperwork, so be patient. They have free hardcopies of their latest 2007 catalogs too.

A word of advice: They do not have all their stock on hand...so be prepared to take an alternative item, or simply be disappointed.

Some pics of my purchases...

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/Sturmannlee/DSC02629.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/Sturmannlee/DSC02633.jpg

In all, I spent like 105,000 YEN at Nakata's alone...Luckly I still had enough money for food and a trip to Tokyo Disneyland.