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
October 23, 2019
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