An Australian trekker has uncovered the site of a World War II battle in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, with the bodies of at least three Japanese soldiers still lying where they fell in 1942.
Former Army captain Brian Freeman, an expert on the arduous Kokoda Trail, said on Monday that local villagers led him to the Eora Creek site where he found the remains of the soldiers.
Capt. Freeman also found their weapons and equipment.
“I never anticipated that we would find war dead,” Capt. Freeman said.
“As soon as we realised that Japanese and, potentially, Australian soldiers were buried at the site, we discussed with the villagers the need for those men to be identified and returned home,” Capt. Brian Freeman said in a statement.
Capt. Freeman said the battleground was known to nearby villagers but they had avoided the site, believing that it was haunted by the spirits of the dead.
The Australian defence force said on Monday it was investigating Capt. Brian Freeman’s report.
Capt. Freeman believes the site, about one kilometre from the village of Eora Creek, was the site of the last major engagement of a battle that proved a significant milestone in Australia’s campaign against the Japanese in Papua New Guinea.