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Trophy Skull

Article about: Wanted to ask the community what everyone’s thoughts are in regards to collecting or owning Trophy Skulls. Are they legal to purchase? Should they be sent home? Does anyone have one? Is th

  1. #1

    Default Trophy Skull

    Wanted to ask the community what everyone’s thoughts are in regards to collecting or owning Trophy Skulls. Are they legal to purchase? Should they be sent home? Does anyone have one? Is this conversation too taboo? Why?

    Sorry I wasn’t sure where to post this. Admin - Trophy SkullPlease move to proper location

  2. #2
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    Never really thought about this one. I guess it would be impossible to reunite a skull with it's former body... Other than that, I am not a fan of grave robbery. I would even think leave the fallen in their place wherever possible.

  3. #3

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    The war in the pacific was brutal to say the least. My great uncle 'A marine who saw heavy combat in the pacific' had a deep hatred for the Japanese. Till the day he died he would curse them in a flurry of racial slurs. This deep hatred of the Japanese led to many pacific theater servicemen 'de-humanizing' their battlefield enemies. This in turn led to gruesome body part war trophies being sent back home. I'm pretty sure FDR himself received a Japanese finger bone from a WWII vet, but he promptly gave it back and called for it to be properly interred.

    As to owning such gruesome pieces... I have NEVER seen such a thing in anyone's collection before. Not to mention how morally wrong it would be to own something like this, I'm sure there are laws in place that prohibit such a thing. There's no doubt that many pacific theater vets brought back trophies like this, so there's reason to believe many of them are still here in the states today. We cay only hope that if any are found, the right thing is done and it's reported to the authorities and properly buried.

  4. #4

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    never seen or heard of this, pretty ghoulish and rather dark. I would not want this in my home
    Regards,

    Jerry

    Whatever its just an opinion.

  5. #5
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    A small "museums" and I use that word loosely. More of a dealer who who pretends to have a museum in the back of his shop had a japanese skull Souvenir on display

  6. #6

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    I have been involved in this hobby -with its many aspects- for well over 45 years now and have never -ever- heard of this before, let alone have I ever seen anything like this...The fact that it was published/publicized in LIFE Magazine is a shocker, quite frankly...
    It's certainly true that the war in the Pacific was a savage one and indeed many veterans returned with a deep-seated hatred of the Japanese for the rest of their lives...
    Thank You for sharing this with us...

  7. #7
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    I talked to a pilot who was stationed in the pacific theater. I always asked him about his service and he would smile and tell me he flew cargo planes and change the subject . One day I was talking with another gentleman who was a veteran of the war in the pacific. During the conversation the pilot told a story about how he had landed at an airfield with supplies and when he got out where the latrine was a young marine pointed to a tree and said right over there. When he got over there he saw a Japanese head nailed to a board It said piss here I'm just a Jap. He put his head down and said these are things I wish I could forget . Sorry for the use of the slang

  8. #8
    CBH
    CBH is offline
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    I remember watch a TV program in the 80’s, believe it was Ripleys Believe it or not, but I’m not positive.
    And they featured a segment on a skull collector, who had a large collection of Japanese skull sovereigns, and other military collectable. One still had his helmet. I must say I was rather disgusted by the racist undertones of the segment, the most vile thing I could think of too collect. Simply gross.

  9. #9
    Dos
    Dos is offline
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    I do love skulls, their anatomy and the way they are shaped.. From the use by pirates from the 15th century till the 18th century, Hussars, or more recent in the world wars. Insignia, banners and flags were used to show the enemy that you were always be willing to put yourself at stake for your own survival or the whole community that you were defending and had no fear from whatever awaits you.

    Taking a human skull as a war trophy, or collecting these is in my opinion sickening and disrespectful. The fallen on both sides of the battlefield should be respected.

  10. #10

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    In my 20 years of collecting, I have heard of this many times. It is actually more surprising that there are long time collectors that have not heard of this. There are countless original photos of soldiers in the pacific with skulls.

    I have heard stories from kids (multiple times) and, I believe, one vet, one time of taking gold teeth. I have heard about the taking of finger bones. I once heard about a finger bone being turned into a key chain. I have seen one skull in the possession of the son who's father was in the pacific and brought it back. I think it was more common to bring back than most people realize, but most people don't want to talk about it.

    As to why it was done there are a multitude of reasons. Some are dehumanizing. Some are more mundane. I know in some cultures skulls have special meaning and I heard, once, that cleaned skulls were sold to soldiers by natives. I saw a note one time from a vet wanting a "shrunken head" for a relative or something...it's not too far off to get to a skull at that point.

    Towards legality there are multiple things at play. Technically speaking, a skull war trophy could be considered improperly obtained remains that are no good. I would NOT go so far as to call it grave robbing, because it probably is not even close to that situation. However, proving a skull or any other bones were brought back from the war would be difficult. Moreso, DNA testing a skull or any bone would be dubious at best because anyone with any medical knowledge knows that prior to ~1970 all anatomical skeletons were real. The vast majority of these came from Asia. So DNA testing the origin or carbon dating the bones will not help.

    Anatomical models (real skeletons - partial or complete) are LEGAL in MOST but NOT all states. Some states require the possessor to be a doctor/physician and or to be able to prove the piece is being used for educational purposes. The state of California used to actually have a store called THE BONE ROOM that actually sold bones. They have since closed their physical store, but they still exist.

    I think the bigger issue at hand is culture. 100 years ago skeletons were not a macabre as they are today. I have heard many times of real skeletons being used for Halloween decorations pre-1940. It is only over the last 50-60 years have thoughts changed. However, it is still possible to obtain real skeletons, even dare I say, relatively fresh ones. They come from India and cost ball park $3-5000 USD.

    There is a very large industry, the world over, dealing in bodies and body parts. To anyone reading this, I pose the question: if you have any kids in high school and they have an anatomy class they may dissect a cat. If they do, ask them where it comes from, I'd hazard it came from Mexico. The United States is one of the biggest end market users of dead bodies, especially aborted fetuses, infant hearts/organs. Knowing what I know, I am much more concerned with what is legal with bodies, human or not, some not very "dead" (some alive) than an old skull someone may have taken off a battle field at some point somewhere.

    I would highly defend the ownership of skeletons. I do not own any, but as with most things, I feel it is the right of the owner to do with as they please. Possession and sale should not be a crime. Any crime should remain in how it was obtained.

    PLEASE REMEMBER most people abhor third reich memorabilia and many people on this forum collect it. Let us not cast stones onto glass houses of others when we, ourselves, are living in a glass house.

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