Location
Hill 31 was part of The Gifu inland from the north coast of Guadalcanal. The U. S. Army designated this location "Hill 31". The present day road goes past Hill 31 and you turn off to the right down a 600 yard dirt road that terminates at Barana village.

Wartime History
Hill 31 was part of the Japanese defense

Hill 31 was the site of the mass grave of the last 85 Japanese defenders killed during the final breakout attempt There were foxholes nearby and shattered pieces of helmets and shot up water bottles in the grass.

Recovery of Japanese Remains
The locals said the Japanese recovered lots of bones in 1984 at the foot of the hill, in the area of the Japanese counterattacks. The Japanese still periodically search for remains and cremate any bones found at the memorial in a bowl - in 1996 we found a half burnt Japanese leather helmet liner in the bowl.

Japanese Mass Grave
In 1984 the Japs came back and dug up the bones and erected a monument there. There were still shattered and shot up pieces of water bottles and helmets around the area when we were there. When the Japanese dug up bodies they cremate the remains but also seem to have a thing about destroying any equipment etc found with them.

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Last Updated
November 1, 2019