The sun had just peaked over the South Pacific horizon as several thousand U.S. Marines fought valiantly to establish a beachhead on one of the countless islands held by the Japanese. Just weeks before, a select Japanese engineering corps and thousands of conscripted Filipino laborers had finished burying a staggering cache of gold bullion, precious gems, and priceless artifacts in an elaborate tunnel system.
The high-pitched whistle of falling bombs pierced the morning stillness. As massive air attacks pulverized the island, the Japanese general in charge of the operation chose suicide over surrender by blowing up the cave and all the adjacent military installations. This gravesite, which contained riches beyond the imagination of the Pharaohs, was unknown to the victorious Americans.
Is this a narrative from a World War II spy novel? No, it is a true story of the South Pacific treasure, known as Yamashita's Gold, part of which is buried in the Davao area of Mindanao, in the Philippines.
