Death March prisoner's
album returned

A Japanese soldier's discovery of a photo album during World War II now has the New Mexico National Guard trying to unravel a historical mystery.

Tokio Watanabe found the album that may have belonged to a young guardsman from New Mexico after U. S. forces in the Philippines surrendered in 1942.

On Monday the New Mexico National Guard took delivery of the album at the Bataan Memorial Military Museum and Library.

Watanabe, who is now 91, witnessed the Bataan Death March when about 75,000 U. S. and Filipino prisoners were brutalized during the forced march to prison camps. An estimated 18,000 died during the march.

About 1,800 New Mexico National Guard troops from the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery units were among those who surrendered. More than half died during the march and either their imprisonment in the Philippines or as forced labor in Japan.

Watanabe found the album at one of the prison camps.

Seven names in the album were found in the records of soldiers from the 200th Coast Artillery. Watanabe hopes the photo album can be returned to its rightful owner or a living family member.

"He found the photo album around 1942, and he kept it," Guard Lt. Col. Ken Nava said. "He actually used it as his own personal photo album as well, so there are hundreds of his own personal photos that are in this album.

"When asked if he wanted to remove those photos out, he said, 'No, this ends the war for me. If getting this photo album to the museum or to its rightful owner ends the war for me.'"

The Bataan Memorial Military Museum will safeguard the album and work to find its rightful owner. Museum officials are trying to track down families of everyone in the unit.

Anyone with information that might help figure out whose album it was, contact Nava at (505) 205-6761.