Pak Raet in Ban Pong in Ban Pong District, Ratchaburi, Thailand — ประเทศไทย (Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula)

Imperial Japanese Army Soldiers Memorial Chedi

— วัดดอนตูม —

Japanese Soldiers Memorial image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jj Karwacki, 2021

1. Japanese Soldiers Memorial

Inscription.
(translated from the Thai)
Dedicated to Japanese soldiers who were killed in action or died of disease in this area of BanPong during World War II, 2484–2486 (1941-1943).

Erected 6 Nov 2534 (1991)

Erected 1991.

Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the The Thailand-Burma Railway series list.

Location. 13° 48.952′ N, 99° 52.889′ E. Marker is in Ban Pong, Ratchaburi, in Ban Pong District. It is in Pak Raet. Memorial can be reached from 160 / 3233 Sam Ngam (Local Route 3233). It is next to the main temple building in Wat Dom Toom (วัดดอนตูม). Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ban Pong, Ratchaburi 70110, Thailand. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 2 other markers are within 3 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Don Toom Gate (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Thai-Burma Railway Starting Station (approx. 3.1 kilometers away).

More about this marker. Chedi is the Thai term for stupa. A stupa is a dome-shaped structure erected as a Buddhist shrine, a memorial to those interred within.

Regarding Imperial Japanese Army Soldiers Memorial Chedi.

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Within this chedi are the names of more than 100 fallen Imperial Japanese Army soldiers who supervised laborers and prisoners of war on the Thai-Burma Railway during World War II. The names are inscribed on bamboo strips. There are no human remains in this chedi.

Also see . . . Wat Don Toom. Article by JJ Karwacki, Colonel (Retired) U.S. Army Medical Corps and Life Member of VFW Post 9951, Bangkok. Excerpt:

It seems that in the late 1980s a group of former IJA soldiers approached the Abbot to gain permission to erect a monument to IJA soldiers who died in this area. Otherwise, why would they have chosen this particular temple for their memorial? Reference is made in the article about the CWGC Allied cemetery in Kanchanaburi (this temple is actually in the neighboring Province of Ratchburi) concerning the lack of ‘commemoration’ of the IJA dead. Per the article, there were no remains of any IJA soldiers to be interred so about 100 names were inscribed on bamboo strips in lieu of bones. The chedi’s inscription denotes the dedication date as 1991 (2534) but the range of dates for the IJA deaths is odd at 1941-43. I had presumed they were referring to soldiers who were KIA in Allied bombings of the area in 1945, but this is not specified in the article and the dates belie that.

(Submitted on July 14, 2023, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.)

Japanese Soldier Memorial Chedi image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jj Karwacki

2. Japanese Soldier Memorial Chedi

Additional keywords. Thai-Burma Railway, Imperial Japanese Army Engineers, memorial grave

Japanese Army Soldiers’ Gift image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jj Karwacki

3. Japanese Army Soldiers’ Gift

A gift to the temple from Japanese soldiers who in the 1990s erected this memorial chedi to their fallen comrades. It is located in the Abbot’s quarters.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 14, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 10, 2023, by Jj Karwacki of Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi. This page has been viewed 123 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 10, 2023, by Jj Karwacki of Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi. 3. submitted on July 14, 2023, by Jj Karwacki of Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.