Coldy Bimore

"Sergeant Coldy Bimore" is the recorded name of a member of the United States Army who was the last known holder of the Honjo Masamune, one of National Treasures of Japan (Kokuhô). The Honjo Masamune and 14 other swords were surrendered by Tokugawa Iemasa (徳川家正) to a police station at Mejiro in December 1945s,[1] due to the disarmament of Japan ordered by Douglas MacArthur. Then, in January 1946, the Mejiro police gave the swords to a man identified in the station's records[1] as 'Sgt. Coldy Bimore'. The name as recorded is a phonetic transcription by the police station employees.

The Honjo Masamune has never been recovered.

Phonetic (Mis)spelling

One possibility based on available service records[2] is that Coldy Bimore is the phonetic spelling of the phrase "called D. B. Moore". When asked his name at the Mejiro police station (literally 'what are you called') he might have replied "I'm called D. B. Moore" which was phonetically mis-heard as "I'm Coldy Bimore". Confusion about rank due to the three chevron patch worn by Technician 4th Grade (T/4) D. B. Moore resulted in the entry Sgt. Coldy Bimore.

D. B. Moore

D. B. Moore's[2] rank was US Army Technician 4th Grade (T/4). Soldiers with the rank of T/4 wore rank patch insignia which had three chevrons and were often confused with, and addressed as, 'Sergeant'.

Moore was attached to the Foreign Liquidations Commission of AFWESPAC (Army Forces, Western Pacific).[3] The Commission's job was to organize the return of confiscated or surrendered property to Japanese authorities. Technician 4th grade D. B. Moore collected the surrendered weapons for the Commission.

D. B. Moore was discharged on April 22, 1946.[2] Detailed military records for Moore were lost in the National Personnel Records Center fire (1973) which destroyed 16 - 18 million Official Military Personnel Files including 80% of records for servicemen and women serving between 1912 and 1960.

D. B. Moore died on August 22, 1979. "TEC 4 US ARMY" is barely legible on his military gravesite marker[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.sydneytokenkai.com/10.htm, Copy of Jim Kurrasch's († September 8, 2003) report on Sydney Token Kai Blog
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 D. B. Moore in Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)
  3. ↑ AFWESPAC (Army Forces, Western Pacific) headquarters 1945-1946, Manila, Philippines
  4. ↑ D.B, Moore at Find A grave

External links