All language subtitles for Forbidden History S06E01 Mystery of Yamashitas Treasure 1080p DSCP WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264-BTN_track3_[eng]

Narrator:
BY THE MID 1940s,

THE TIDES OF WORLD WAR II
WERE TURNING,

AND LEGEND HAS IT
THAT DESPERATE JAPANESE SOLDIERS

BURIED A TREASURE OF GOLD
AND RELICS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

Picknett: THEY TOOK AN IMMENSE
AMOUNT OF TREASURE FROM TEMPLES,

FROM BANKS, ANYTHING THEY COULD
LAY THEIR HANDS ON.

Gough: IT'S ALLEGED TO HAVE
INCLUDED GOLD BARS,

WHICH WERE TAKEN,
MELTED DOWN AS BULLION,

RESTAMPED AS JAPANESE GOLD.

Narrator: IS IT TRUE
THAT A VAST TREASURE

WAS BURIED UNDER THE PHILIPPINES
DURING WORLD WAR II?

AND IS IT STILL THERE,

OR DID ALLIED VICTORS DISCOVER
AND TAKE THE VALUABLES

FOR THEMSELVES?

OR IS IT ALL JUST A GREAT STORY?

THE IDEA THAT THERE'S THIS VAST
TREASURE UNDER THE SURFACE,

IT'S JUST TOO ATTRACTIVE
TO RESIST.

-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

*

*

*

Narrator: THE SO-CALLED LOST
JAPANESE TREASURE

IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
GREAT UNSOLVED MYSTERIES.

WHILE THE NAZI LOOTING
IN EUROPE TOOK THE SPOTLIGHT,

SOUTHEAST ASIA WAS ALSO
BEING SYSTEMATICALLY PLUNDERED.

A VAST COLLECTION OF RELICS,
ANTIQUES, ARTWORK,

AND IMPORTANTLY, GOLD

WAS AMASSED OVER
THE COURSE OF WORLD WAR II.

WHEN THINGS TOOK A TURN FOR
THE WORST FOR JAPANESE FORCES,

THEY WERE SAID TO HAVE
DESPERATELY SEARCHED

FOR A LOCATION TO HIDE
THEIR PRICELESS TREASURE TROVE.

IS THIS MYTHICAL PLUNDER REAL?

IF SO, WHAT WAS
HIDDEN AND WHERE?

AND WHAT, IF ANYTHING,
IS LEFT TODAY?

JAPAN EMBARKED ON
AN ABSOLUTELY RUTHLESS EFFORT

TO LOOT EVERY COUNTRY
THAT THEY OCCUPIED

BEFORE AND DURING WORLD WAR II.

WE'RE TALKING CHINA,
KOREA, LAOS, VIETNAM,

CAMBODIA, THE PHILIPPINES.

NOTHING WAS SAFE
FROM THEIR SOLDIERS.

Narrator:
AND IT'S THE MERE PROSPECT

OF DISCOVERING UNTOLD WEALTH

THAT CONTINUES TO BRING TREASURE
HUNTERS TO THE PHILIPPINES.

TO THIS DAY,

INCLUDING KLAUS DONA.

FOUR YEARS AGO,

THE AUSTRIAN RESEARCHER
DISAPPEARED OFF THE GRID.

FOR A TIME,
NO ONE KNEW WHERE HE WAS.

THEN ONLY A FEW OF HIS CLOSEST
FRIENDS AND FAMILY

WERE TOLD WHERE HE HAD GONE --

THE PHILIPPINES,
DEEP BELOWGROUND.

*

IN THE TIME HE'S BEEN THERE,

KLAUS AND HIS TEAM
OF LOCAL WORKERS

HAVE MANUALLY DUG
AND PNEUMATICALLY DRILLED

VERTICAL SHAFTS DEEP
INTO THE GROUND,

ABOUT 200 FEET DOWN,

HAVING BEEN GIVEN EXACT DETAILS
ON WHERE TO DIG BY HIS CONTACTS.

THEY UNEARTHED AN ALREADY
EXISTING NETWORK OF TUNNELS.

*

WHO ORIGINALLY BUILT THEM
IS UNKNOWN,

BUT THE FACT THEY EXIST
200 FEET UNDERGROUND

MAKES THIS A VERY REAL
TREASURE HUNT.

Dona: WHEN I FOUND OUT
HOW DANGEROUS THE JOB HERE IS,

I WAS HIDING FOR A WHILE.

ONLY A FEW GOOD FRIENDS KNOW
THAT I AM ON THE INTERNET.

MANY PEOPLE
WERE SEARCHING FOR ME,

BUT I DID NOT WANT THAT
EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE I AM

BECAUSE THAT COULD HAVE
BROUGHT ME INTO DANGER.

*

Narrator: KLAUS BELIEVES
HE'S VERY CLOSE TO REACHING

THE JAPANESE TREASURE,

BUT IT'S NOT EASY
DOWN IN THE TUNNELS,

AND HE ACKNOWLEDGES
JUST HOW DANGEROUS IT IS.

Dona: IN THE FIRST YEAR WE WERE
DOWN ALREADY IN A BIG HOLE,

30 METERS,
AND WE WERE ALREADY VERY CLOSE

TO ONE BIG, BIG BUNKER,

AND THE WHOLE MOUNTAIN CAME DOWN

BECAUSE WHAT I DID NOT KNOW
AT THAT TIME,

THERE WAS A HUGE AMOUNT OF CLAY,

AND WHEN THAT MATERIAL GETS DRY,

IT WILL VERY EASY COLLAPSE.

Janulis: THE JAPANESE WERE
WELL KNOWN TO USE BOOBY TRAPS

WITHIN THEIR BUNKER SYSTEM
COMPLEXES

IN THE DEFENSE
OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS.

THE MARINES AND SOLDIERS
WERE TERRIFIED OF THESE THINGS.

AND SO USUALLY INSTEAD
OF DEALING WITH IT,

THEY WOULD JUST THROW
HAND GRENADES IN

AND LET THE GRENADES
TAKE CARE OF THE BOOBY TRAPS.

Narrator: THE THREAT OF DEATH
IS ALL TOO REAL

AMONG THE TREASURE HUNTERS.

THE DIGS THEY UNDERTAKE ARE
DIFFICULT AND SOMETIMES DEADLY.

Dona: THERE ARE MANY STORIES
AROUND THIS AREA

THAT PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE
THE TUNNEL COLLAPSED

THROUGH A BOOBY TRAP.

LAST YEAR, THREE MEN DIED

BECAUSE THEY ARRIVED
AT THE CEMENT AREA.

THEY THOUGHT THIS IS THE FINAL
ENTRANCE TO THE ROOM.

AND WHEN THEY STOPPED IT
WITH A CHECK ON THE DRILLING,

THEY HIT ONE OF THE POISON PUT
IN A GLASS INSIDE THE CEMENT.

THEY HIT IT AND THEY
ALL THREE DIED IMMEDIATELY.

McMahon:
THERE IS A RECURRING MYTH

THAT THE JAPANESE PLACED
CYANIDE BOTTLES,

BROWN BOTTLES FULL OF THIS
DEADLY DRUG, INTO THEIR TUNNELS,

THE IDEA BEING THAT IF
TREASURE HUNTERS CAME ALONG

AT A LATER DATE AND STUCK
THEIR SPADE IN

IT WOULD SMASH THE BOTTLE

AND ALL THE CYANIDE
WOULD BE RELEASED, KILLING THEM.

I THINK
THIS PROBABLY MISUNDERSTANDS

HOW CYANIDE WORKS.

IT ALSO PROBABLY MISUNDERSTANDS

THE NATURE
OF THESE BROWN BOTTLES,

WHICH PROBABLY HELD
VERY BASIC MEDICINES

THAT THE JAPANESE NEEDED

TO TREAT ALL KINDS
OF EVERYDAY AILMENTS.

*

Narrator: BY 1942,

THE JAPANESE IMPERIAL ARMY HAD
INVADED MUCH OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

AND REMOVED MANY TREASURES
AS THEY LOOTED THAILAND,

CAMBODIA, LAOS AND WHAT
WAS THEN KNOWN AS BURMA...

*

...SIMILAR TO WHAT THE NAZIS

WERE SIMULTANEOUSLY
DOING ACROSS EUROPE

BY STEALING PRICELESS
VALUABLES EN MASSE.

THIS PRACTICE CONTINUED IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA FOR MANY YEARS.

*

AS THE JAPANESE ADVANCED,

THEY MERCILESSLY
RANSACKED COUNTRY AFTER COUNTRY,

STEALING ART, GOLD, AND
TREASURES ON A MASSIVE SCALE.

THEY ARE REPORTED TO HAVE STOLEN
FROM BANKS, MUSEUMS,

TEMPLES, AND PRIVATE
COLLECTIONS.

IT WAS SAID TO BE UNRIVALED
IN MILITARY HISTORY,

POSSIBLY SURPASSING
EVEN THE NAZIS' EPIC PLUNDERING.

THIS COVERT OPERATION
ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA

WAS CODE-NAMED "GOLDEN LILY"

AND WAS HEADED
BY PRINCE CHICHIBU,

THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN'S
BROTHER.

Picknett:
JAPAN HAD NEVER LOST A WAR

AND NEVER SURRENDERED
IN ITS ENTIRE HISTORY.

AND THAT BROUGHT ABOUT THIS
EXTRAORDINARY --

BEYOND ARROGANCE --
IN EACH INDIVIDUAL SOLDIER.

McMahon: THIS MASSIVE PLUNDERING
OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

WAS INTENDED TO FUND
THE JAPANESE WAR EFFORT

AND THE DIRECTION,
THE COORDINATION,

OF THIS HUGE THEFT

WENT RIGHT UP
TO THE IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD

AND PRINCE CHICHIBU, WHO WAS
THE BROTHER OF EMPEROR HIROHITO,

CODE-NAMES THIS OPERATION
"GOLDEN LILY,"

WHICH ACTUALLY COMES FROM A POEM

THAT WAS COMPOSED
BY THE EMPEROR.

AND UNDER THIS CODE NAME
GOLDEN LILY,

ALL OF JAPAN'S NEIGHBORS WERE
BEING PLUNDERED SYSTEMATICALLY

TO FUND JAPANESE RULE
IN THE REGION.

Picknett:
IF THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE ARMY

HAD TAKEN ALL OF THEIR PLUNDER

FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS,
FROM BANKS,

BULLION, GOLD, RELIGIOUS RELICS,

IF THEY'D TAKEN ALL THAT
TO THE PHILIPPINES,

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN
AN INCALCULABLE HOARD.

McMahon:
THEY WERE GOING INTO TEMPLES

AND MUSEUMS
AND PRIVATE RESIDENCES

AND BASICALLY
HOOVERING UP THE LOT.

AND THEY WERE TAKING
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS' WORTH

OF ALL THIS TREASURE,
OF ALL THESE ARTIFACTS,

POSSIBLY DOWN
TO THE PHILIPPINES.

*

Narrator:
HAVING SCOURED TREASURES
FROM ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA,

THE NEXT STEP
IN OPERATION GOLDEN LILY

IS TO GET THE TREASURE
BACK TO JAPAN.

*

BEFORE THEY CAN DO THAT,

THEY FIRST MELT DOWN THE GOLD
INTO EASY-TO-MOVE GOLD BARS

TO ERASE
ANY IDENTIFYING FEATURES

AND PREVENT THE VALUABLE METAL

FROM BEING TRACED BACK
TO ITS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.

*

THE GOLD IS THEN TAKEN
TO THE PHILIPPINES

TO BE INVENTORIED

BEFORE BEING SHIPPED HOME
TO JAPAN

ON THEIR MASSIVE NAVAL FLEET.

BUT BEFORE THEY MAKE IT HOME,

SOME OF THE SHIPS CARRYING
THIS TREASURE

ARE SUNK
OFF THE COAST OF THE ISLANDS.

THIS PLUNDER WAS MEANT

TO FUND
THE JAPANESE MILITARY MACHINE,

AND THEY KNEW THEY WOULD NEED
TO WIN WITH TECHNOLOGY,

AND THEY WERE INVESTING HEAVILY

IN SOME OF THE MOST
SOPHISTICATED MILITARY VESSELS

AND WEAPONS EVER IN HISTORY.

McMahon: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS,

MAYBE EVEN A TRILLION DOLLARS

THAT THE JAPANESE NEEDED
TO FUND THEIR WAR EFFORT

AND TO FUND THEIR CONTROL
OF THE REGION,

WHICH IS THEIR OVERALL AMBITION.

SO THAT HAD TO FUND
THE MASSIVE IMPERIAL NAVY,

THAT HAD TO FUND
ALL THOSE KAMIKAZE PILOTS

LAUNCHING THEIR SUICIDE
MISSIONS.

IN ORDER TO DO THAT,

THEY HAD TO STEAL
ON AN EPIC SCALE

ACROSS ALL THE COUNTRIES
IN THE AREA.

Narrator: WHAT CONTINUES
TO GIVE TREASURE HUNTERS HOPE

THAT THE GREAT JAPANESE FORTUNE

STILL LIES BURIED
BENEATH THE PHILIPPINES

SO MANY DECADES LATER,

AND HOW FAR WILL THEY GO
TO FIND IT?

*

*

Narrator: OVER THE COURSE
OF WORLD WAR II,

JAPANESE FORCES
ACQUIRED A VAST TREASURE

AS THEY PLUNDERED RICHES
FROM ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA.

SAID TO BE MADE UP OF RELICS,
ARTWORK,

AND MOST INTERESTINGLY,
LARGE AMOUNTS OF GOLD BARS,

IT COULD BE WORTH BILLIONS
OF DOLLARS.

LEGEND HAS IT
THE PRICELESS HOARD

WAS BURIED IN THE PHILIPPINES
AT THE END OF THE WAR.

UNCONFIRMED REPORTS SAY
THE JAPANESE FORCES

SECURED THEIR FORTUNES
UNDERGROUND

AND PLACED EXPLOSIVES

AND POISONOUS GAS TRAPS
WITHIN THE TUNNELS

TO KILL ANYONE WHO DARED
COME NEAR.

SUPPOSEDLY
IT HAS NEVER BEEN DISCOVERED,

BUT THERE ARE RUMORS OF GOLD
AND VALUABLES

HAVING BEEN FOUND
IN THE AREA.

MANY TREASURE HUNTERS
HAVE DESCENDED ONTO THE ISLANDS

TO FIND IT,
BUT SO FAR WITHOUT MUCH SUCCESS.

THE TOTAL TREASURE WAS SAID TO
WEIGH AROUND 6,000 TONS

AND BE WORTH $100 BILLION TODAY.

Bellinger:
JAPAN'S GOLDEN LILY PROJECT
PROBABLY WAS ENTIRELY REAL.

LOOTING SYSTEMATICALLY
IS A HUGE PURPOSE

FOR EMBARKING ON WAR
IN THE FIRST PLACE.

NATIONS GO TO WAR TO GAIN
GEOPOLITICAL POWER AND RICHES.

*

Narrator: JAPAN OFFICIALLY
ENTERS WORLD WAR II

ON THE MORNING
OF DECEMBER 7, 1941,

WITH ITS ATTACK
ON THE UNITED STATES

VAST NAVAL FLEET BASED
AT PEARL HARBOR IN HAWAII.

THE BASE WAS STRUCK BY 353
IMPERIAL JAPANESE AIRCRAFT

LAUNCHED FROM SIX
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS.

THE JAPANESE DAMAGED
OR DESTROYED OVER 20 SHIPS

AND KILLED OR WOUNDED

OVER 3,500
AMERICAN NAVAL PERSONNEL.

PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
REFLECTED,

"IT WAS A DATE
WHICH WILL LIVE IN INFAMY."

BUT NOT LONG AFTER
THE JAPANESE INVASION

AT PEARL HARBOR,
THE TIDE TURNED.

YOU'VE GOT TO IMAGINE
WHAT A HUGE REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

THIS IS FOR THE JAPANESE.

IN 1941, '42,

THEY WERE
CONQUERING THE PACIFIC.

THEY HAD ALMOST TAKEN AUSTRALIA.

THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY
WITH HITLER

TO ACHIEVE GLOBAL DOMINATION.

AND YET IN JUST
A COUPLE OF YEARS,

THE UNITED STATES
WAS PUSHING THEM

ALL THE WAY BACK
ACROSS THE PACIFIC,

STRAIGHT BACK TO JAPAN.

*

Narrator: IN JUNE 1942,

JUST SIX MONTHS AFTER BOTH SIDES
HAD ENTERED THE WAR,

THE U.S. AND JAPANESE
FORCES MEET AGAIN

AT MIDWAY ISLAND
IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

OVER THE SPAN OF FOUR DAYS,

THE U.S. SINKS
FIVE JAPANESE SHIPS,

DESTROYS 270 AIRCRAFT,

AND KILLS 3,700
MILITARY PERSONNEL.

THE JAPANESE HAVE LOST
CONTROL OF THE SEAS,

AND THE ONLY WAY BACK TO JAPAN
FOR THE SURVIVORS

AND THEIR LOOTED TREASURE
IS NOW BLOCKADED BY THE U.S.

IT'S TOO RISKY FOR THEM
TO SHIP THE GOLD HOME.

THEY NEED A NEW PLAN.

ALLEGEDLY, THEY SINK A NUMBER
OF THEIR OWN SHIPS AT SEA

TO KEEP THE ALLIES
FROM INTERCEPTING THEM

AND DECIDE TO BURY MUCH
OF THE TREASURE HOARD,

ESPECIALLY THE GOLD,
UNDER THE ISLAND OF LUZON

IN THE PHILIPPINES.

THE JAPANESE WERE
IN A TIGHT SPOT.

THEY HAD ALL OF THIS PLUNDER.

BUT IF THEY WANTED TO SEND IT,
LET'S SAY, TO MAINLAND JAPAN,

THEY HAD TO RISK SENDING A SHIP

WITH THE WEALTH OF THEIR
MILITARY OUT INTO OPEN WATERS

RIDDLED WITH AMERICAN WARSHIPS,
SUBMARINES.

AND SO IF YOU LOOK
AT THE COMPLEX ISLAND CHAIN

AND ARCHIPELAGO
OF THE PHILIPPINES,

THERE ARE LOTS OF LITTLE HIDING
SPOTS, LOTS OF LITTLE PLACES

WHERE THEY COULD SAFELY TUCK
AWAY SOME TREASURE

WITHOUT IT BEING NOTICED.

AND THAT MAY HAVE BEEN
A MUCH SAFER OPTION

THAN PUTTING THAT OUT IN THE
OPEN WHERE IT COULD GET SUNK.

Narrator: IN THEIR FINAL EFFORT
TO PROTECT THE TREASURE,

THE IMPERIAL FAMILY TURNS

TO ONE OF THEIR MOST
EXPERIENCED GENERALS,

TOMOYUKI YAMASHITA.

THE GENERAL IS INSTRUCTED
TO HIDE THE GOLD

WITH THE HOPE THAT IT CAN
BE RECOVERED AT A LATER TIME

ONCE THE JAPANESE
ARE VICTORIOUS.

HE IDENTIFIES OVER 100
UNDERGROUND SITES

ACROSS THE ISLANDS,

MANY OF WHICH ARE PREVIOUSLY
EXISTING UNDERGROUND NETWORKS.

*

Janulis: THIS WAS THEIR LAST
CHANCE TO TURN THE WAR AROUND.

AND GENERAL YAMASHITA
WAS SENT THERE JUST TO DO THAT

BECAUSE OF HIS SKILL, EXPERTISE,
AND THE FACT

THAT THE TROOPS UNDER HIM
HELD HIM IN HIGH, HIGH REGARD.

McMahon:
TO HIDE ALL THIS TREASURE,

IT'S ENTIRELY FEASIBLE
THAT THE JAPANESE

MAY HAVE USED
PRE-EXISTING TUNNELS

DUG BY PREVIOUS SPANISH
COLONIAL POWER OR THE AMERICANS,

AND POSSIBLY DUG
THEIR OWN TUNNELS.

BUT ALL OF THIS, OF COURSE,

TO REMAIN OUT OF SIGHT
OF THE AMERICANS IN THE AIR

AND LOCAL RESISTANCE.

*

Narrator: YAMASHITA ORDERS
DETAILED MAPS

TO BE MADE
OF EACH TREASURE VAULT,

WHAT IS STORED THERE AND HOW
TO NAVIGATE THE TUNNELS INTO IT,

WHICH IS THEN CAREFULLY ENCODED.

UNLESS YOU KNOW
THE COMPLEX CODE,

THESE MAPS ARE MEANINGLESS.

AND THERE ARE EVEN FURTHER
LAYERS OF SECURITY

TO DEFEND THE SITES.

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE KNOW
IS RUTHLESSLY KEPT TO A MINIMUM.

BUT FOR ALL OF YAMASHITA'S WORK,

THE GOLD IS STILL NOT SAFE.

Bellinger:
THE JAPANESE PROTECTED

THEIR HIDDEN TREASURE LOCATIONS

BY CREATING A SYSTEM
OF TREASURE MAPS

CODED VERY ELABORATELY,

BASED IN ANCIENT
JAPANESE SYMBOLS,

WHICH WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT
FOR ANYBODY ELSE TO DECIPHER.

IF THEY WERE ABLE TO DO SO,
HOWEVER,

THERE WAS A SECOND LINE
OF DEFENSE

IN THE HIDING PLACES
THEMSELVES

IN THE FORM OF BOOBY TRAPS
SUCH AS CYANIDE VIALS

THAT WOULD EXPLODE UPON CONTACT,

BOMBS, OTHER THINGS RIGGED
TO KILL ANYBODY

WHO TRIED TO GO AND TAKE WHAT
THE JAPANESE THOUGHT WAS THEIRS.

Narrator:
WITH TIME RUNNING OUT,

YAMASHITA ORDERS THE ENGINEERS
TO SEAL THE TREASURE VAULTS.

YAMASHITA HAS ONE LAST TRICK
UP HIS SLEEVE

TO PROTECT THE GOLD.

THE STORY GOES THAT WHILE
THE SOLDIERS

ARE CARRYING OUT HIS ORDERS,

YAMASHITA SEALS
THE VAULTS HIMSELF...

WITH THE ENGINEERS
STILL INSIDE.

NOW THEY WILL BE ITS GUARDIANS
FOR ETERNITY.

Janulis:
THE JAPANESE SOLDIERS

ALL KNEW HOW TO
BASICALLY TUNNEL.

EVERY ISLAND
THAT THE MARINES AND ARMY

HAD TO TAKE FROM THE JAPANESE
WAS FILLED WITH TUNNELS.

THESE TUNNELS
WEREN'T FOR PLUNDER.

THESE TUNNELS WERE
DEFENSIVE FORTIFICATIONS.

SO THEY WERE ALREADY EXPERTS,
ESSENTIALLY,

AT MINING AND TUNNELING.

McMahon: UNDER SUSTAINED
AMERICAN ATTACK,

THE JAPANESE DECIDED
TO MAKE THEIR LAST STAND

IN THE VALLEYS AND THE HILLS

AROUND NORTHERN LUZON AND BAGUIO

AND RETREATED THERE
WITH THEIR TREASURE,

WHERE IT'S MORE THAN LIKELY THAT
THEY BURROWED INTO THOSE HILLS,

CREATING NEW TUNNELS
TO HIDE AWAY THE BULLION

THAT THEY'D STOLEN
FROM THE REGION.

*

Narrator: WITHIN THREE MONTHS,
WORLD WAR II IS OVER.

GENERAL YAMASHITA
IS PUT ON TRIAL FOR WAR CRIMES.

HE TAKES THE SECRETS
OF THE GOLD TO HIS GRAVE.

THERE IS ALLEGEDLY
ONLY ONE OTHER PERSON

WHO KNOWS OF
THE GOLD'S WHEREABOUTS --

PRINCE CHICHIBU.

BUT HE HAS ALREADY DIED
OF TUBERCULOSIS

BEFORE THE WAR ENDED.

IT SEEMS YAMASHITA'S GOLD
IS LOST FOREVER.

YAMASHITA NEVER EVEN HAD
THE CHANCE TO CONSIDER

REVEALING THE LOCATIONS OF THE
TREASURE AFTER HE WAS CAPTURED

BECAUSE HE WAS EXECUTED
BY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT.

*

*

Narrator: KLAUS DONA,
AN AUSTRIAN RESEARCHER

DEDICATED TO UNCOVERING THE
SPOILS OF OPERATION GOLDEN LILY,

CLAIMS HE HAS FOUND
SIGNIFICANT CLUES

THAT THE JAPANESE TREASURE
REMAINS IN THE PHILIPPINES

TO THIS DAY.

HE AND HIS TEAM HAVE DUG TUNNELS
USING PNEUMATIC DRILLS

AND UNEARTHED CONCRETE WALLS
AND UNIQUE MARKERS

INDICATING RICHES
ARE BURIED NEARBY.

*

HE SAYS HE'S WORKING
WITH INSIDER INFORMATION,

WHICH HAS LED HIM DOWN
TO A COMPLEX SYSTEM

OF PREVIOUSLY EXISTING TUNNELS

WHERE THE JAPANESE TREASURE
IS STILL BURIED,

OR WHATEVER IS LEFT OF IT.

THIS MODEL IS A MOCKUP.

HERE WE HAVE
A SMALLER CHAMBER

INSIDE WITH PRECIOUS STONES,

WHICH -- BUT WE FIRST FINISH
THAT ROOM,

THEN WE MAKE THIS ONE
AND THEN WE CONTINUE HERE.

SO HERE IN THE CLOSEST AREA,

WE HAVE FOUR CHAMBERS,
AND ONCE MORE,

TREASURE'S RIGHT HERE.

Narrator: AND KLAUS HAS HIGH
EXPECTATIONS FOR WHAT AWAITS

BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN
A DOCUMENTED CASE

OF TREMENDOUS WEALTH
BEING FOUND ON THE ISLAND,

BUT AT GREAT COST.

*

Narrator: THE MYSTERY OF THE
SO-CALLED LOST JAPANESE TREASURE

LIVES ON IN THE PHILIPPINES.

IT'S SAID TO BE MADE UP
OF PRICELESS VALUABLES,

ARTWORK, AND MOST INTERESTINGLY,
GOLD BARS.

IT'S SUPPOSEDLY WORTH
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

THERE ARE UNCONFIRMED REPORTS
THAT THE JAPANESE BURIED IT

IN UNDERGROUND SITES
AND PLACED EXPLOSIVES

AND POISONOUS GAS TRAPS
WITHIN THEIR TUNNELS

TO KILL ANYONE
WHO DARED TO BREAK IN.

TODAY, DOZENS OF PEOPLE
ARE ON THE ISLANDS

TRYING TO DISCOVER
THE ELUSIVE TREASURE,

BUT SO FAR,
WITHOUT MUCH SUCCESS.

ONE OF THOSE
WHO HAS DEDICATED THEIR LIFE

TO FINDING THE GOLD
AND TREASURES

IS AUSTRIAN HISTORIAN
AND RESEARCHER KLAUS DONA.

BASED ON INSIDER INFORMATION
FROM THE LOCALS,

HE AND HIS TEAM HAVE TARGETED

ONE VILLAGE
OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE.

ACROSS THE SITE, THEY HAVE
DUG FOUR VERTICAL SHAFTS

DEEP INTO THE EARTH,
SOME NEARLY 200 FEET.

WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO REVEAL
THE LOCATIONS OF THESE SHAFTS,

NOR THE INFORMATION
HE HAS GLEANED FROM THE LOCALS.

BUT HE IS SURE HE'S CLOSE.

IT'S DARK AND TREACHEROUS.

THE THREAT OF DEATH
IS ALL TOO REAL.

Dona: THE MOST DANGEROUS MOMENT
IS COMING

WHEN WE OPEN
ONE OF THE CHAMBERS,

BECAUSE IF THERE WOULD BE
SOME DEAD PEOPLE INSIDE,

WE HAVE TO EXPECT GAS,

WHICH WOULD HIT OUR WORKERS
AND OF COURSE, ME, TOO.

SO BE PREPARED.
ALREADY GAS MASKS.

AND THEN WE HAVE TO BE
VERY CAREFUL

BECAUSE I'M SURE THAT IN THE
ROOMS, YOU WILL FIND EXPLOSIVES.

*

IF WE FIND GOLD BARS,
WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL

BECAUSE I GOT INFORMATION
THAT SOME OF THE GOLD BARS

HAVE A POISON
ON TOP OF THE GOLD BARS.

THAT MEANS IF YOU WOULD TOUCH
THEM WITH YOUR PLAIN HANDS,

YOU WOULD DIE.

SO WE PREPARED ALREADY
LONG RUBBER GLOVES

AND BE PREPARED
ALSO PROTECTION CLOTHES

FOR THE MOMENT
WE GO INSIDE THE ROOM.

AND IF WE HAVE
EXPLOSIVES INSIDE,

I GET SPECIAL BOMB SQUAD
TO CHECK IT.

WITH THOUSANDS
OF TREASURE HUNTERS

ALL OVER THE PHILIPPINES
TAKING GREAT RISK,

TUNNELING, EXCAVATING,

SO FAR, WHAT'S BEEN FOUND?
VERY LITTLE.

BUT MAYBE SOMEDAY
IN THE FUTURE,

SOMEBODY WILL FIND THE HOARD,
THE BIG ONE.

*

Narrator: ALTHOUGH KLAUS HASN'T
MADE A GREAT DISCOVERY YET,

THERE WAS ONE INFAMOUS
FINDING BY A LOCAL

THAT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED.

IN 1970, FILIPINO LOCKSMITH
AND AMATEUR TREASURE HUNTER

ROGELIO ROXAS
OBTAINED A PERMIT

TO EXCAVATE
A PARTICULAR SITE IN BAGUIO,

IN THE NORTH OF THE COUNTRY.

WHY HE CHOSE
THAT SITE IS UNCLEAR,

BUT HE WAS REPORTED TO HAVE
DUG UNDERGROUND FOR MANY MONTHS

BEFORE UNCOVERING
AN EXISTING NETWORK OF TUNNELS.

*

AS HE DUG FURTHER, THERE WERE
REPORTS OF HIM FINDING WEAPONS,

A WIRELESS RADIO,

AND THE SKELETAL REMAINS
OF JAPANESE SOLDIERS.

AFTER SEVERAL WEEKS, HE BROKE
THROUGH A CONCRETE FLOOR

TO A LOWER LEVEL CHAMBER,
WHERE IT SAID

HE DISCOVERED A LARGE QUANTITY
OF WOODEN BOXES,

EACH ONE ABOUT THE SIZE
OF A BEER CRATE.

WHEN HE OPENED
ONE OF THE CRATES,

HE FOUND 24 GOLD BULLION BARS.

ROXAS HAS ALSO CLAIMED TO HAVE
DISCOVERED A GOLDEN BUDDHA

WHOSE HEAD TILTED BACK

TO REVEAL SEVERAL HANDFULS
OF UNCUT DIAMONDS.

NOW, IMAGINE THAT YOU'VE BEEN
SEARCHING FOR THIS FOR YEARS.

THIS IS YOUR PASSION,
AND YOU FINALLY FIND THIS.

THIS IS
A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EPIC FIND.

HE JUST HIT THE JACKPOT.
HIS BUCKET LIST WAS COMPLETE.

YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW ECSTATIC
HE WOULD HAVE BEEN.

McMahon: AFTER ALL THE DIGGING
IN DUSTY TUNNELS,

TUNNELING HIS WAY IN THE DARK,

ROGELIO ROXAS HAS THAT MOMENT
OF WONDER

WHERE HE FINDS THOSE 24 GOLD
BARS AND THE GOLD BUDDHA.

YOU KNOW, HE'S FINALLY FOUND
THE ENIGMATIC TREASURE

BURIED BY THE JAPANESE
ALL THOSE YEARS AGO.

*

Narrator: ROXAS MADE NO EFFORT
TO CONCEAL

WHAT HE CLAIMS WAS A MAJOR FIND.

HE POSED WITH THE GOLDEN BUDDHA

FOR AT LEAST ONE
NEWSPAPER PHOTOGRAPHER,

AND IT'S REPORTED THAT HE SHOWED
IT TO SEVERAL POTENTIAL BUYERS.

DURING THE FOLLOWING WEEKS,

ROXAS IS SAID TO HAVE SOLD SEVEN
OF THE 24 GOLD BARS.

*

HE DID THIS DURING A TIME
WHEN FERDINAND MARCOS

WAS DICTATOR
OF THE PHILIPPINES,

AND MARCOS HAD ISSUED AN EDICT

STATING
THAT ALL TREASURE HUNTERS

NEEDED TO GET PERMISSION FROM
HIM IN ORDER TO GO SEARCHING.

WELL, ROXAS HAD NOT DONE THIS.

FERDINAND MARCOS
SENT HIS HENCHMEN

TO KNOCK ON THIS GUY'S DOOR
AND HAULED HIM OFF TO PRISON.

Narrator: ON APRIL 5, 1971,

MEN IN UNIFORM
CAME TO ROXAS' HOUSE.

THEY SHOWED A SIGNED
SEARCH WARRANT

ISSUED BY THE LOCAL JUDGE,
A MEMBER OF THE MARCOS FAMILY,

AND THEY INSPECTED HIS HOUSE.

THEY ATTACKED HIS BROTHER
WITH THEIR RIFLES

AND TERRORIZED HIS FAMILY.

Roxas: THEY CAME TO OUR HOUSE
IN AURORA HILL.

THEY RAIDED OUR PLACE.

THEY GET OUR PERSONAL THINGS
PHILIPPINE MONEY,

THE GOLDEN BUDDHA,
AND THE GOLD BARS.

THEY TAKE EVERYTHING.

WE'RE A HAPPY FAMILY BEFORE,

AND AFTER, THEY DESTROYED
OUR FAMILY CIRCLE.

MY DAD THAT TOLD US THAT
EVERYONE OF OUR FAMILY,

THEY WILL KILL.

WE RUN AWAY,
ALMOST HALF DAY TO WALK,

TO GO TO THE MOUNTAIN.

I STAY AT THE MOUNTAIN
ALMOST SEVEN YEARS.

I'M SIX YEARS OLD THAT TIME.

WE DON'T HAVE ANY PARENTS
BECAUSE MY DAD,

THEY PUT IN JAIL
ALMOST TWO YEARS.

Narrator: HE WAS HELD CAPTIVE
AND TOLD TO SIGN

AN AFFIDAVIT
THAT THE RAID ON HIS HOME

WAS PERFORMED
IN A PEACEFUL MANNER.

Roxas: THERE IS A PAPER
THEY WANT TO SIGN.

MY DAD DON'T LIKE
TO SIGN THE PAPER.

THEY TORTURED MY DAD.

THEY PUT THE ELECTRIC SHOCK
INSIDE THE BODY,

AND THEY HIT MY DAD.

MY DAD, HE SAY -- HAVE
A BIG BLACK EYE.

THEY BEAT HIM SO BADLY
ABOUT THE FACE

THAT HE LOST HIS EYESIGHT
IN ONE EYE,

AND HE WAS JUST
A COMPLETELY BROKEN MAN.

EVERYTHING FOR YEARS
AND YEARS, HE HAD STRIVED FOR,

HE HAD FINALLY ACHIEVED SUCCESS,

AND NOW HE WAS JUST COMPLETELY
PHYSICALLY

AND EMOTIONALLY DEMORALIZED.

Narrator: IS THERE EVIDENCE
THAT THESE RICHES

WERE ACTUALLY PART
OF THE JAPANESE TREASURE?

AND IF SO,
IS THERE MORE TO BE FOUND?

AND IF FERDINAND MARCOS REALLY
STOLE THE RICHES FROM ROXAS,

WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?

*

Narrator: IT'S ONE OF
THE WORLD'S GREAT MYSTERIES...

THE LEGEND OF THE LOST
JAPANESE TREASURE.

IT'S SAID TO BE A VAST QUANTITY
OF GOLD, RELICS,

AND OTHER VALUABLE OBJECTS
THAT WAS SECRETLY HIDDEN

BY THE JAPANESE
IN THE PHILIPPINES

DURING THE FINAL MONTHS
OF WORLD WAR II.

THERE HAVE BEEN MANY STORIES
OF INDIVIDUAL VALUABLES

COMING TO LIGHT,

BUT NOTHING AS MASSIVE AS WHAT
IS RUMORED TO HAVE BEEN BURIED.

YET EVERYTHING SEEMS TO POINT
TO THE EXISTENCE

OF A LARGE JAPANESE TREASURE
ON THE ISLANDS.

IS IT STILL THERE, OR IS IT
A GREAT STORY AND NOTHING MORE?

THIS MYTH OF BURIED TREASURE
EVIDENTLY GOT AROUND.

THERE WERE LOCAL PEOPLE
IN THE PHILIPPINES

WHO LOOKED FOR THIS TREASURE,

AND THERE IS AT LEAST EVIDENCE
OF ONE INDIVIDUAL

WHO FOUND SOMETHING.

ROGER ROXAS
WAS DIGGING IN THE AREA.

HE FOUND A CAVE.

IT CONTAINED APPARENTLY
A FABULOUS GOLD BUDDHA

FILLED TO THE BRIM
WITH DIAMONDS,

AND SOME GOLD BARS,
WHICH HE TOOK,

AND HE ATTEMPTED TO SELL.

*

McMahon: ONCE THE AUTHORITIES
GOT WIND OF HIS DISCOVERY,

HIS WHOLE LIFE
WAS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.

HIS HOUSE WAS RAIDED.

IT WAS CLEARED
BY THE AUTHORITIES.

HE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY.
HE WAS IMPRISONED BY THE STATE.

AND, YOU KNOW, HE WAS LEFT
VERY MUCH

AS A BROKEN MAN AS A RESULT
OF FINDING THIS TREASURE.

Narrator: IT IS ALLEGED
THAT FERDINAND MARCOS

HIRED SOME EXPERIENCED
MINING OPERATIVES

TO SEARCH FOR AND FIND
THE LOST JAPANESE TREASURE,

AND ESPECIALLY THE GOLD BARS.

MARCOS CLEARLY WANTED IN
ON THIS TREASURE.

HE HIRED AN INDIVIDUAL
CALLED BOB CURTIS,

WHO CLAIMED
TO BE VERY EXPERIENCED

AT THIS SORT OF THING,
WHO WENT OUT

AND CAME BACK AND SAID,
"LOOK, I FOUND GOLD BARS,

I FOUND GEMSTONES,
I FOUND STATUARY."

BOB CURTIS
AND CHARLES McDOUGALD

ARE VERY INTERESTING CHARACTERS,
VERY CREDIBLE CHARACTERS.

THEY CLAIM THAT THEY HAVE
SEEN THE TREASURE

AND THEY PUT A VERY
CONVINCING CASE FORWARD.

THE ONLY PROBLEM IS
THAT THEY DON'T PRODUCE

ANY PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE,
AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE

THE QUESTION MARK
IS LEFT HANGING IN THERE.

INTERESTINGLY, THE CASE
OF ROGER ROXAS IS PERHAPS

THE ONE PIECE OF THIS STORY

WHICH IS DOCUMENTED IN
LEGITIMATE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE,

AND THEN THAT IS IN THE RECORDS
OF A TRIAL

THAT WAS HELD
IN THE HAWAIIAN SUPREME COURT

20 YEARS AFTER ROXAS
FOUND HIS TREASURE,

WHEN HE BROUGHT SUIT
AGAINST THE MARCOSES

FOR VIOLATION OF HIS
HUMAN RIGHTS FOR THE TORTURE

THAT HE WAS SUBJECTED
TO WHEN HE WAS IMPRISONED.

Narrator: IN FEBRUARY 1986,
FERDINAND MARCOS WAS DEPOSED

AND FLED WITH HIS WIFE, IMELDA,
TO HAWAII UNDER U.S. PROTECTION.

HE ALLEGEDLY CARRIED SUITCASES
FULL OF GOLD BULLION BARS

AND MASSIVE AMOUNTS
OF BULLION CERTIFICATES.

DURING PRESIDENT MARCOS' TRIAL
IN 1993,

AMERICAN MINING EXPERTS
TESTIFIED THAT FERDINAND MARCOS

HAD SHOWN THEM A SOLID GOLD
BUDDHA STATUE

WITH A REMOVABLE HEAD,

AS ROGELIO ROXAS
HAD DESCRIBED.

IT ALSO MATCHED THE PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE BUDDHA

WITH ROXAS IN 1971.

THEY ALSO TESTIFIED
THAT THEY WERE ASKED TO HELP

WITH THE RE-MELTING
OF GOLD BULLION

AND REMOVING ANY TRACE ELEMENTS

THAT MIGHT REVEAL
THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.

WAS THIS THE TREASURE
THAT ROXAS HAD FOUND?

*

ROXAS AGAIN TRIED TO PRESS
CHARGES OF BODILY HARM

AND THE THEFT OF HIS GOLD,
DIAMONDS, AND THE BUDDHA.

A SERIES OF LEGAL ACTIONS
FOLLOWED IN HAWAII,

CULMINATING IN A STAGGERING JURY
VERDICT IN 1996

AWARDING ROXAS $22 BILLION.

A HAWAIIAN COURT CONCLUSIVELY
DECIDED

THAT ROXAS HAD DISCOVERED
GOLD TREASURE

BURIED IN A CAVE
IN THE PHILIPPINES,

AND THAT THE MARCOSES
HAD TAKEN IT FROM HIM WRONGLY.

Narrator:
BUT NOTHING HAS EVER BEEN PAID

TO EITHER ROXAS OR HIS FAMILY.

WE'RE WAITING FOR THE JUSTICE
SINCE 1986 UNTIL NOW.

Narrator: ROGELIO ROXAS DIED
A BROKEN MAN IN 1993.

TOLD MY DAD,
EVEN THOUGH YOU DIED,

YOU'RE DEAD ALREADY,
THAT I WILL CONTINUE THE CASE,

AND I WILL CONTINUE THE
TREASURE-HUNTING ABILITIES NOW.

*

*

Narrator: KLAUS DONA HAS NOW
SPENT OVER FOUR YEARS

ON HIS HUNT
FOR THE JAPANESE TREASURE

FUNDED BY HIS OWN MONEY
AND RESEARCH EFFORTS.

*

HE AND HIS TEAM HAVE EXCAVATED
FOUR LARGE VERTICAL SHAFTS

DOWN TO ABOUT 200 FEET
INTO THE EARTH.

*

HE CLAIMS THAT HE WAS GIVEN
EXACT DETAILS ON WHERE TO DIG,

AND THEY UNCOVERED
A LARGE TUNNEL NETWORK.

*

WHO BUILT THEM
AND WHY IS UNKNOWN,

BUT THE FACT THAT THE SYSTEM
EXISTS 200 FEET BELOWGROUND

MAKES THIS
A VERY REAL TREASURE HUNT.

HE STILL BELIEVES
IN ABSOLUTE SECRECY

AND MAINTAINING SECURITY.

OF COURSE, YOU HAVE TO BE
VERY QUIET.

YOU CAN ONLY TALK
WITH REALLY TRUSTED PEOPLE

BECAUSE ONCE YOU OPEN
THE POSSIBILITY

THAT PEOPLE MIGHT TRY TO ROB
WHAT YOU'VE FOUND

OR EVEN TO KILL YOU,

THAT POSSIBILITY, OF COURSE,
IS THERE.

-HELLO!
-HI! HOW YOU DOING?

GOOD TO SEE YOU.
OH, MAN! IT'S BEEN A WHILE.

HOW ARE YOU?
-FINE, THANK YOU.

Narrator: RESEARCHER AND WRITER
ANDREW GOUGH

IS A SELF-CONFESSED
MYSTERY ENTHUSIAST.

HE HAS SPENT YEARS
INVESTIGATING THE MYSTERY

OF THE JAPANESE GOLD.

HE BELIEVES THAT MUCH OF
THE TREASURE IS STILL HIDDEN

UNDERNEATH THE PHILIPPINES.

HE'S A FRIEND OF KLAUS DONA

AND HAS VISITED HIM
AT HIS EXCAVATION SITE BEFORE.

Gough: I'VE BEEN PASSIONATE
ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES

AND THE LEGEND OF THE JAPANESE

WHO LOOTED TWELVE
ASIAN COUNTRIES.

THE QUESTION BEING,

DID THEY TAKE THAT LOOT
AND BURY IT IN THE PHILIPPINES?

IS THAT FACT
OR IS THAT FANTASY?

SO, OVER THE COURSE
OF A NUMBER OF YEARS,

I HAD REACHED OUT TO KLAUS DONA.

HE'D COMPLETELY GONE OFF GRID.

NOBODY HAD HEARD FROM HIM
OTHER THAN THE RUMOR

THAT HE WAS SOMEPLACE

SO SPECTACULAR
THAT HE COULDN'T LEAVE.

THERE'S DIFFERENT KINDS
OF SITES, RIGHT?

THERE'S SITES THAT HAVE

JUST FOOTBALL PITCH CHAMBER
FULL OF GOLD BARS,

BUT THERE'S ALSO SOMETHING
CALLED IMPERIAL TREASURE.

WHAT'S THAT? AND WHICH ONE DO
YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE CLOSE TO?

I'M SURE THAT WE ARE WORKING
ON TWO IMPERIAL TREASURE SITES

BECAUSE ON THE WAY,
WE HAD A LOT OF BOOBY TRAPS.

THE MOST DANGEROUS WAS ALWAYS
THE CYANIDE.

CYANIDE.

THEY WOULD PUT
THE CYANIDE IN GLASS,

AND THEY PUT THE GLASS
INSIDE THE CEMENT.

I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING
BECAUSE TO BE 70 YEARS,

I WOULD NOT BE FOUR YEARS HERE
DIGGING IN,

KNOWING THAT I'M SPENDING
MY TIME ON NOTHING.

I HOPE FOR ME
THAT WE FIND ALSO

MANY INTERESTING
VERY OLD ARTIFACTS.

NOW WE ARE REALLY CLOSE
AND NOW WE ARE BREAKING.

Narrator: BUT SOME BELIEVE
THAT THE TREASURE

HAS ALREADY BEEN REMOVED
FROM THE ISLANDS

BY ONE OF THE GREATEST
SUPERPOWERS IN THE WORLD.

*

Narrator: THE MYTH OF THE
SO-CALLED LOST JAPANESE TREASURE

IS VERY MUCH ALIVE
IN THE PHILIPPINES.

IT'S SAID TO BE MADE UP
OF PRICELESS RELICS, ARTWORK,

AND VAST QUANTITIES OF GOLD BARS
WORTH BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

SUPPOSEDLY, AFTER WORLD WAR II,
JAPANESE FORCES BURIED IT

IN SECRET UNDERGROUND SITES
AND PLACED EXPLOSIVES

AND POISONOUS GAS TRAPS
WITHIN THEIR TUNNELS

TO KILL ANYONE
WHO DARED TO BREAK IN.

*

THE JAPANESE GENERAL TASKED
WITH HIDING

AND BOOBY-TRAPPING THE LOOT,

TOMOYUKI YAMASHITA,
WAS TRIED AND HANGED

BY AN AMERICAN MILITARY TRIBUNAL
IN FEBRUARY 1946.

HE TOOK MANY SECRETS
TO HIS GRAVE,

INCLUDING THE MAPS AND SPECIFIC
CONTENTS OF THE TREASURE.

*

EVEN TODAY, DOZENS OF PEOPLE
ARE ON THE ISLANDS

TRYING TO UNCOVER IT.

BUT SO FAR, FEW DISCOVERIES
HAVE BEEN REPORTED.

SKEPTICS HAVE QUESTIONED
IF THE PLUNDER

IS STILL LOCATED
WITHIN THE PHILIPPINES.

PERHAPS THE VICTORIOUS
AMERICAN FORCES

DISCOVERED
THE UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS

AND TOOK EVERYTHING
FOR THEMSELVES.

OR IS IT JUST
A FANTASTIC STORY

WITH NO PROOF TO BACK IT UP?

IT SAID THAT 175
OR MORE SITES WERE CREATED.

JAPANESE SOLDIERS, PRISONERS
OF WAR WERE CONSCRIPTED

TO DIG THESE THINGS,
TO MOVE ALL THE TREASURE IN,

AND THEN TO CLIMB IN AFTER IT,
TO FACE THEIR DEATH

BECAUSE THEY KNEW TOO MUCH
ABOUT WHAT WAS HIDDEN THERE.

*

Narrator: EVENTUALLY,
GENERAL YAMASHITA'S DRIVER

AND RIGHT-HAND MAN,
MAJOR KOJIMA, WAS TORTURED

AND ALLEGEDLY REVEALED
176 TREASURE SITES

IN THE PHILIPPINES.

McMahon:
THERE IS A FASCINATING STORY

THAT MAJOR KOJIMA
WAS INTERROGATED

BY A FILIPINO
CALLED SANTA ROMANA,

AND SANTA ROMANA
GOES IN VERY HARD ON KOJIMA.

HE'S REALLY ROUGH WITH HIM.

HE'S TRYING TO FIND OUT
WHERE THOSE TUNNELS,

WHERE THAT TREASURE IS.

AT SOME POINT,

SOMEBODY CALLED EDWARD LANSDALE,

WHO'S WORKING
FOR U.S. INTELLIGENCE,

COMES INTO THE ROOM
AND TRIES A DIFFERENT TACK.

SANTA ROMANA'S STRONG-ARM
TACTICS HAVEN'T WORKED.

EDWARD LANSDALE SIMPLY
OFFERS KOJIMA

A CUT OF THE ACTION,
A COMMISSION,

IF THE TREASURE CAN BE REVEALED.

WELL, THAT SEEMS TO CHANGE
THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERE,

AND KOJIMA STARTS TALKING.

YOU KNOW, ONE MIGHT SAY THAT
LOYALTY WOULD HAVE PREVENTED

KOJIMA FROM REVEALING
WHERE THE TREASURE WAS,

BUT IF KOJIMA KNEW THAT THE WORK
WAS BASICALLY DONE,

AND HE WAS SORT OF LOOKING

TO WHAT'S WHAT LIES NEXT
ON THE HORIZON

FOR HIM PERSONALLY.

IF I WAS IN HIS SHOES,

I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE TOLD
WHERE THE TREASURE WAS.

I WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE CUT,
AS THEY SAY.

*

THERE IS A STRONG BELIEF
THAT THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS

DID FIND OUT ABOUT THE HIDDEN
TREASURE IN THE PHILIPPINES

AND THAT THROUGH TORTURE
AND TUNNELING,

THEY MANAGED TO FIND IT.

ACCORDING TO REPORTS,
THE TREASURE TURNED OUT

TO BE WORTH AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE.

THE CLAIMS ARE THAT
A SECRET FUND

WAS SET UP BY THE AMERICANS
CALLED THE BLACK EAGLE TRUST.

IT PROVIDED VERY SECRET,
BUT VERY SUBSTANTIAL FUNDING

TO ALL MANNER OF COVERT PROJECTS
OVER THE NEXT 50 YEARS.

THESE ARE ALLEGED TO HAVE
INCLUDED CAMPAIGNS

AGAINST THE RUSSIANS
IN THE COLD WAR,

THE DRUG BARONS
IN SOUTH AMERICA,

MORE RECENTLY, AL-QAEDA AND THE
WARS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ.

BUT THERE IS NO CONCRETE PROOF
THIS TRUST REALLY EXISTED.

Bellinger: THERE'S A VERY
WELL-ESTABLISHED CONSPIRACY

THAT THE AMERICAN CIA OPERATIVES
SET UP AN EPIC SLUSH FUND

CALLED THE BLACK EAGLE TRUST

TO BE USED TO FUND
COVERT ACTIVITIES

IN SUPPORT OF ANTI-COMMUNISM

AND THE COLD WAR
GENERALLY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD,

BEGINNING IN THE 1950s,
SUPPORTING THE KOREAN WAR,

IN THE 1980s, SUPPORTING

RONALD REAGAN'S
IRAN CONTRA CRISIS.

AND ACCORDING TO THESE
THEORISTS, THEY DO NOT SPECIFY,

BUT IT'S ENOUGH FURTHER ACTION
TO FILL SEVERAL VOLUMES.

IF THE STORY IS TRUE
THAT THE AMERICANS USED

ALL THESE ASSETS TO FUND COVERT
ANTI-COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES

AROUND THE WORLD.
THE QUESTION HAS TO BE ASKED,

WAS THERE ANYTHING LEFT
FOR THE MARCOSES?

Narrator:
WHILE THE BLACK EAGLE TRUST

MAY OR MAY NOT BE REAL,

IN THE PHILIPPINES,

KLAUS DONA FIRMLY BELIEVES
THE TREASURE IS STILL THERE

AND THAT HE IS
ON THE VERGE OF DISCOVERING IT.

*

*

Narrator: IT'S ONE OF
THE WORLD'S GREAT MYSTERIES.

THE LEGEND OF THE LOST
JAPANESE TREASURE

IS SAID TO BE A VAST QUANTITY
OF GOLD, RELICS,

AND OTHER VALUABLE OBJECTS

THAT WERE STOLEN
DURING WORLD WAR II.

AT THE SAME TIME,
THE JAPANESE FORCES

WERE LOOTING SOUTHEAST ASIA,

THEIR AXIS PARTNERS, THE NAZIS,
SYSTEMATICALLY PLUNDERED EUROPE.

THEY HOARDED LARGE AMOUNTS OF
RELICS, ARTWORK, AND GOLD BARS.

IT EVENTUALLY TOOK A TEAM
OF ALLIED MILITARY INVESTIGATORS

CALLED THE MONUMENTS MEN TO FIND
AND RECOVER THE STOLEN GOODS.

*

BUT WHILE MUCH OF THE NAZI
PLUNDER HAS BEEN FOUND,

THE ALLEGED JAPANESE TREASURE
IS STILL MISSING,

SAID TO BE BURIED UNDERNEATH
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

SO IS THE LEGENDARY
JAPANESE FORTUNE

STILL THERE
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS,

OR IS IT ALL A GREAT STORY
AND NOTHING MORE?

MANY TREASURE HUNTERS
HAVE DESCENDED ON THE ISLANDS

TO TRY AND FIND IT, BUT SO FAR,
WITHOUT MUCH SUCCESS.

Janulis: THIS TREASURE WOULD
MAKE YOU WEALTHY

BEYOND YOUR DREAMS BACK HOME.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE
A NUMBER OF EXAMPLES

OF ALLIED SOLDIERS

FINDING PLUNDERED TREASURE
AND LOOT

THROUGHOUT
BOTH THE PACIFIC AND EUROPE,

BRINGING IT HOME WITH THEM.

SO IT'S NOT IMPLAUSIBLE

THAT SOME OF THESE TUNNELS
WERE FOUND.

AND WE'VE GOT SOME FOLKS
RUNNING AROUND EITHER ENGLAND

OR AMERICA, VERY WEALTHY TODAY.

NOBODY KNOWS WHY OR HOW.

*

Narrator: KLAUS DONA IS
AN AUSTRIAN RESEARCHER

WHO HAS DEDICATED THE PAST
FEW YEARS OF HIS LIFE

TO FINDING THE JAPANESE GOLD.

FOUR YEARS AGO,
HE SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR.

FOR A TIME,
NO ONE COULD FIND HIM.

THEN ONLY A FEW OF HIS
CLOSEST FRIENDS AND FAMILY

WERE TOLD ABOUT
WHERE HE HAD GONE.

THE PHILIPPINES.

Dona: I KNOW SOME PEOPLE
WHO REALLY FOUND SOME TREASURES,

SOME GOLD BARS,

A SMALL JAR WITH SOME DIAMONDS.

AND I WAS SHOCKED.

Gough: THE JAPANESE ALLEGEDLY
HID THEIR TREASURE HOARDS

IN PLACES THEY'D REMEMBER,
SO MOUNTAINS...

MILITARY BASES, SCHOOLS,
HOSPITALS --

PLACES THAT WILL BE AROUND
IN 50 YEARS,

OR AT LEAST THERE'LL BE
A GEOGRAPHIC MEMORY OF THEM.

WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THEY
CREATED THREE LEVELS OF MAPS.

HERE'S A MAP OF ALL THE SITES
WHERE WE'VE DEPOSITED TREASURE.

HERE'S A MAP OF THE SITE THAT
HAS SYMBOLS IN THE LANDSCAPE.

AND THEN THERE'S
THE ENGINEERING MAP,

THE THIRD MAP, THAT TELLS YOU
ABOUT THE TUNNEL.

IT GOES 40 METERS THIS WAY,
THEN IT GOES DOWN,

THEN IT GOES LEFT, ET CETERA.

THOSE ARE ALL GONE NOW.

*

Narrator: KLAUS CLAIMS THAT
HE WAS GIVEN

ALL SORTS OF IMPORTANT
INFORMATION BY PEOPLE

WHO KNEW WHAT WAS HIDDEN

AND WHERE THE JAPANESE
PUT THEIR TREASURE.

*

-HORSEHEAD, SIR.
-THIS IS HERE?

YES, SIR.

AND THEN THE EAGLE.

THAT'S AMAZING.

IT DOES LOOK LIKE
A HORSE'S HEAD, DOESN'T IT?

THERE'S THE EYE.
THERE'S SORT OF THE NOSE.

AND ANOTHER ONE YOU HAVE
OVER THERE

THAT LOOKS FOR ME LIKE
A GEOGRAPHIC MAP

OF THE AREA HERE,

THAT WHEN THEY CAME BACK,
THEY WOULD HAVE THE MAP.

THEY WOULD KNOW EXACTLY
WHICH DIRECTION MEANS

WHAT --
-MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

...FIND THE NEXT THE MARKERS.

Gough: THE INTERESTING THING
ABOUT KLAUS ARE HIS METHODS.

THEY'RE A COMBINATION
OF MANY DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES.

HE USES MAPS.

HE RESEARCHES AREAS
THAT ARE MORE LIKELY THAN NOT

TO HAVE BEEN PLACES WHERE
THE JAPANESE

COULD HAVE HIDDEN THINGS.

HE ALSO INTERVIEWS PEOPLE, TALKS
TO THE ELDERS TO UNDERSTAND,

YOU KNOW,
HAVE YOU SEEN SOMETHING?

CAN I FIND AN EYEWITNESS?

I MET ALSO ANOTHER EYEWITNESS
WHEN HE WAS 16 YEARS OLD.

HE WAS WORKING FOR HIS FATHER
ON THE FIELD,

AND THEN SOME
JAPANESE SOLDIERS CAME.

THEY JUST TOOK ALL THE CORN
ON THE FLOOR,

AND THEY LOADED HEAVY BOXES
ON THAT SMALL CART

AND THEY FORCED THE YOUNG GUY
TO BRING THOSE PIECES

UP TO ONE OF THE PLACES
WHERE WE ARE NOW WORKING.

AND HE SAW HOW THEY BROUGHT
THE HEAVY BOXES UP

TO THE SMALL HILL.

THAT'S EXACTLY THE PLACE
WHERE WE WERE DIGGING.

*

Gough: KLAUS, YOU'VE TOLD ME
BEFORE THAT THESE SITES

CAN'T BE DISCOVERED
BY JUST ANYONE,

THEY'RE SPIRITUALLY
PROTECTED.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?
CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME EXAMPLES?

WE HAVE A LOT
OF EXAMPLES,

BUT FOR THIS PLACE,

CHUBI CAN PROVE
THE JAPANESE --

THEY SAW JAPANESE SOLDIERS,

GHOSTS...
-GHOSTS?

MARCHING UP HERE
WITH COMBAT BOOTS

AND HELMETS
AND EVERYTHING.

-MARCHING UP HERE?
-MARCHING UP HERE.

-DID YOU SEE THAT?
-YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

THAT'S AMAZING.

-IN THE NIGHT.
-YEAH. IN THE NIGHT.

EVEN THE DAY.

EVEN ON THE DAY?

YEAH. SOME CHILDREN ARE
PLAYING AROUND.

THEY SAW THE JAPANESE.

YEAH.
HOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT?

I MEAN, NOBODY WOULD
BELIEVE YOU ANYWAYS.

THAT'S CRAZY.

Gough: THERE'S ALSO STORIES
OF A LITTLE BIT OF PARANORMAL

WHERE SOME OF THE ELDERS
AND SOME OF THE LOCALS

SEE A MARCHING JAPANESE ARMY
THAT ISN'T THERE

IN THE ACTUAL EXCAVATION SITE
IN THE TUNNELS.

HE'S STARTING TO SEE SYMBOLS.

HE FOUND THIS HUGE HEART
WITH AN ARTERY

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TUNNEL.

KEEP IN MIND,
THE TUNNEL IS CLOSED.

YOU HAVE TO BREAK IT
WITH A CHISEL.

AND IN WHAT FELL OUT
WAS THIS HUGE HEART,

A KNOWN JAPANESE SYMBOL

THAT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE
WHAT'S BELOW.

*

McMahon: KLAUS ISN'T SHORT OF
DETERMINATION AND ENTHUSIASM,

AND NOBODY CAN TAKE
THAT AWAY FROM HIM,

AND HE'S -- HE'S USED
TECHNIQUES LIKE DOWSING

TO TRY AND FIND THE TREASURE,
TO WARN OF THE BOOBY TRAPS.

HE'S DUG HIS OWN TUNNELS.

HE'S IDENTIFIED WHAT HE BELIEVES
ARE MARKERS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

THAT INDICATE
WHERE THOSE TUNNELS ARE.

BUT ARE THESE MARKERS REAL?

Dona: LOOK HERE,
FOR EXAMPLE,

YOU SEE NOT A TYPICAL MARKER
BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE

THAT THIS AND THIS
IS A DIFFERENT MATERIAL.

AND HERE.
-RIGHT.

IT LOOKS LIKE A BIG TUNNEL
AND SIDE TUNNELS,

AND WE KNOW THAT HERE ARE
TUNNELS WITH SIDE TUNNELS.

*

Narrator: IN THE VILLAGE
WHERE KLAUS IS DIGGING,

THE JAPANESE COME REPEATEDLY
ASKING ABOUT A PARTICULAR TREE.

I'VE SEEN THAT TREE.
OF COURSE, EVERYONE SAYS, "NO.

I DON'T KNOW
WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

THERE'S NO SUCH TREE,
NOT HERE."

SO THERE'S A MEMORY OR SOME
COPIES OF THESE MAPS THAT HAVE,

YOU KNOW, TREES
THAT AREN'T INDIGENOUS,

STONES THAT ARE CARVED TO LOOK
A CERTAIN WAY.

AND THIS GETS INTO THE REALM OF,
"ARE YOU SEEING THINGS,

OR IS TH--
ARE THESE REALLY MARKERS?"

I THINK IF WE HAD
THE ORIGINAL MAPS

THAT HAD THE LOCATION
OF WHERE THESE SYMBOLS ARE,

THEN IT WOULD BE
A LOT MORE BELIEVABLE.

Narrator: AS KLAUS AND HIS TEAM
BURROW FURTHER INTO THE GROUND,

THEIR JOURNEY WILL BECOME
EVEN MORE PERILOUS.

Janulis: THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST
DANGEROUS TYPES OF DIGGING

OR EXCAVATING YOU CAN DO,

AND THIS CAN KILL WITHIN
MINUTES.

*

Narrator: IT'S ONE OF
THE GREAT QUESTIONS

IN THE PHILIPPINES TODAY --

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST
JAPANESE TREASURE.

IT'S SAID TO BE A HUGE AMOUNT
OF GOLD BARS, SACRED RELICS,

AND OTHER VALUABLE OBJECTS
THAT WERE SECRETLY HIDDEN

BY THE JAPANESE
IN THE PHILIPPINES

AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II.

THERE HAVE BEEN MANY STORIES

OF PARTS
OF THE TREASURE BEING FOUND,

BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN PROVEN.

AND YET ALL THE STORIES
SEEM TO POINT TO A LARGE AMOUNT

OF GOLD BURIED
IN THE PHILIPPINES.

BUT IS IT STILL THERE?

DID THE AMERICAN FORCES
DISCOVER THE UNDERGROUND VAULTS

AND REMOVE IT?

OR IS IT ALL A GREAT TALE,
BUT NOTHING MORE?

McMahon: SKEPTICS WILL SAY,

"WELL, NO TREASURE HAS EVER BEEN
FOUND, SO THERE IS NONE."

BUT, YOU KNOW,
THINK ABOUT HUMAN NATURE.

IT'S MORE THAN LIKELY THAT
THERE HAVE BEEN TREASURE HUNTERS

OUT THERE
LOOKING FOR ALL THIS LOOT.

AND IF THEY'VE FOUND IT,
WHY WOULD THEY GO PUBLIC?

ISN'T IT MORE LIKELY THEY JUST
KEEP IT PRIVATELY TO THEMSELVES?

Narrator:
AUSTRIAN RESEARCHER KLAUS DONA

HAS SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS

DIGGING DOWN
INTO THE PHILIPPINES,

LOOKING FOR
THE JAPANESE TREASURE.

HE BELIEVES HE'S CLOSE AND THAT
HE WILL UNEARTH A GREAT FIND.

Gough: THERE ARE MANY FACTORS
THAT LEAD KLAUS TO BE

SO RESOLUTE THAT HE HAS FOUND
A JAPANESE TREASURE SITE.

FOR INSTANCE, HE'S WORKING ON
A FORMER JAPANESE MILITARY BASE.

HE'S WORKING AT A SITE
WHERE THE ELDERS HAVE TOLD THEM

THAT NOT ONLY HAVE THEY SEEN

JAPANESE COMING
AND BURYING BIG HEAVY BOXES,

BUT THAT MARCOS,
THE THEN-PRESIDENT,

VISITED AND SAID,

THIS IS THE SITE
THAT I WANT TO EXCAVATE NEXT.

*

Bellinger:
KLAUS DONA IS TAKING PERHAPS

A DIFFERENT APPROACH
FROM SOME TREASURE HUNTERS.

HE'S USING THE ANCIENT
TECHNIQUE OF DOWSING.

NOW, DOWSING IS SOMETHING WHICH
HAS ABSOLUTELY ZERO CREDIBILITY

IN TERMS OF SCIENTIFIC PROOF,

BUT THERE IS A GREAT DEAL
OF BELIEF IN ITS POWER

AS AN INTUITIVE APPROACH WHERE
ONE HOLDS A STICK OF SOME KIND,

WALKS AROUND OVER A VERY
CAREFULLY CONSIDERED LOCATION

THAT'S BEEN CHOSEN
FOR VERY SPECIFIC REASONS,

AND HENCE, YOU MIGHT FIND
WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR

WHEN YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH,

WHETHER YOU DO IT BY DOWSING
OR JUST OPENING YOUR EYES.

Picknett: YOU CAN USE DOWSING
TO FIND, FOR EXAMPLE,

REMAINS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGS,

AND MOST ARCHAEOLOGISTS WOULD
DIE RATHER THAN ADMIT

THAT THEY EMPLOY THE DOWSER,
BUT THEY HAVE OVER THE YEARS.

YOU HAVE MAP DOWSERS
WHO ACTUALLY HAVE A MAP,

AND THEY HOLD A PENDULUM
OR DOWSING ROD OVER IT,

AND THEY LOCATE WHAT
THEY'RE LOOKING FOR ON A MAP,

WHICH SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE,
WHICH SOUNDS RIDICULOUS,

BUT ACTUALLY,
MOST TIMES IT WORKS.

Felix: DOWSING CAN WORK FOR
WHATEVER YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT.

YOU COULD FIND GRANDMA'S LOST
WEDDING RING IN THE BACK GARDEN.

IF YOU WANDER ALONG WITH
A PAIR OF BENT COAT HANGERS,

THINKING "GRANNY'S
LOST WEDDING RING," IT'S REAL.

THAT'S WHY WHEN
PEOPLE THINK, "WATER," "OIL"...

URI GELLER EARNED HIS MILLIONS
BY DOWSING FOR OIL IN TEXAS.

Dona: I STOPPED DEAD AND I FOUND
OUT WHERE THE ROOMS ARE

AND WHERE THERE MIGHT BE ROOMS,

AND THEN I STARTED ASKING MORE
SO IF I COULD FIND SOME CYANIDE

OR IF I CAN FIND
SOME DANGEROUS SITES.

AND IT WAS GETTING BETTER
AND BETTER AND BETTER.

Gough: I MUST HAVE BEEN I WAS
SKEPTICAL ABOUT DOWSING

FOR THINGS OTHER THAN WATER.

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO ASK
YES/NO QUESTIONS?

WHO IS RESPONDING?
HOW CAN YOU TRUST THAT?

BUT I HAVE SEEN HIM NOW OVER THE
COURSE OF TWO OR THREE YEARS.

HE SUCCEEDS EVERY TIME.
I MEAN,

THIS IS ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY
TAKEN TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

*

WHAT'S OVER
THAT DIRECTION?

THAT'S CYANIDE OVER THERE.

-THAT'S CYANIDE?
-YEAH.

ABOUT THE LEVEL THAT WE ARE NOW,
VERY DEEP,

THAT MEANS IF YOU MAKE
A MISTAKE,

YOU'LL NEVER GET
THE TREASURE.

I'VE LEARNED TO THE FACT
THAT FIVE OR SIX PEOPLE DIE

EVERY WEEK
IN THE PHILIPPINES FROM CYANIDE.

I'VE GONE TO THE PHILIPPINES
TO TREASURE SITES

AND HAD PEOPLE SHOW ME.

"IT'S OVER THERE
BENEATH THE WATERFALL."

"I WENT IN THERE AND I FELT
MY FOOT BURNING.

I LOOK AT MY FOOT NOW.
I HAVE NO TOES

I'M MISSING FINGERS ON MY HAND

BECAUSE I'VE GONE IN TOO CLOSE
TO THE CYANIDE,

AND IT WAS RELEASED."

SO AS SPECTACULAR
AND UNBELIEVABLE AS IT SOUNDS

TO THINK THAT THERE'S CYANIDE
JUST BEYOND THE WALLS

THAT -- THAT KLAUS IS
TRANSVERSING, UM...

I ACTUALLY THINK IT'S TRUE

BECAUSE I'VE SEEN THE FIRSTHAND
EVIDENCE OF PEOPLE

WHO HAVE LOST LIMBS
FROM THE CYANIDE

AND ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.

*

SO TO GET AROUND THAT,

HE DOWSES IN EACH SITE
TWICE A DAY

TO MAKE SURE THAT,
"IS IT SAFE TO GO FORWARD?"

"NO, IT'S NOT."
"IS IT SAFE TO GO LEFT?"

"NO, IT'S NOT."
"IS IT SAFE TO GO RIGHT?"

OKAY, "IT'S SAFE TO GO RIGHT.
HERE WE GO, GUYS. YOU GO THERE.

I'LL GO CHECK THE OTHER SITES."

SO THAT'S HOW HE DOES IT.

THERE'S AN IMMENSE
AMOUNT OF DANGER.

*

Narrator: HOW CLOSE IS KLAUS TO
REACHING THE JAPANESE TREASURE?

HOW ACCURATE ARE THE SIGNS
AND MARKERS

THAT HIS TEAM ARE FOLLOWING,

OR IS IT ALL JUST A CHASE
AFTER FOOL'S GOLD?

THAT'S AMAZING. IT DOES LOOK
LIKE A HORSE'S HEAD, DOESN'T IT?

*

Narrator: THE LEGEND
OF A HIDDEN JAPANESE TREASURE

BURIED UNDER THE PHILIPPINES

IN THE CLOSING MONTHS
OF WORLD WAR II

HAS BECOME SOMETHING
OF A LEGEND.

IT SUPPOSEDLY INCLUDES
VAST AMOUNTS OF GOLD BARS,

TREASURE, AND RELICS,
BUT IS IT ACTUALLY THERE?

McMahon: TREASURE HUNTERS
ARE SUPPOSED TO GO

AND GET A LICENSE,
A PERMIT TO OPERATE.

THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO SPECIFY
WHERE THEY'RE DIGGING.

BUT IN REALITY, YOU KNOW,

IF YOU'RE A TREASURE HUNTER
IN THE PHILIPPINES,

YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING TO GO
LOOKING FOR THIS TREASURE.

IF YOU FIND ANY, WELL,

YOU'RE GONNA KEEP IT A SECRET
TO YOURSELF.

Narrator: AUSTRIAN EXPLORER
KLAUS DONA

HAS SPENT OVER FOUR YEARS

DIGGING HIS WAY DOWN
INTO THE PHILIPPINES.

HE SAYS HE'S FOLLOWING
VERY DETAILED INFORMATION

GIVEN TO HIM BY THE LOCALS.

HE'S BURROWED INTO PREVIOUSLY
EXISTING TUNNELS

200 FEET BELOWGROUND,
USING A PNEUMATIC DRILL.

HE BELIEVES HE'S CLOSE.

Dona: I'M QUITE SURE
ON OUR FOUR PLACES NOW

WE ARE VERY, VERY CLOSE

BECAUSE FIRST WAS
THE WHITE CERAMIC.

THE NEXT LAYER HAD SOME LEAVES
IN FRONT,

GOLD DUST AND DIAMOND DUST,

AND WE HAVE A BIG ECHO
ON EACH OF THE PLACES

IN FRONT AND SOMETIMES
ALSO ON THIS SIDE.

THAT MEANS THE ENTRANCE

AND THEN THE ROOM GOING AROUND
THE CORNER OF THE CHAMBER.

*

Gough: THE INCREDIBLE THING IS
THAT KLAUS

DIDN'T JUST OPEN A HATCH
AND FIND THE OPEN TUNNELS.

HE FOUND THE SITE AND IDENTIFIED
WHERE THE TUNNELS USED TO BE.

SO THEY'RE FILLED WITH CEMENT.

THE JAPANESE CREATED
THE TUNNELS,

PUT SOMETHING AT
THE END OF THEM.

THEN SEALED THAT WITH CEMENT.

AND THAT'S WHAT
HE'S DIGGING THROUGH,

A FEW INCHES EVERY DAY.

KLAUS IS EXCAVATING
VERTICALLY.

HE'S DIGGING TUNNELS
STRAIGHT DOWN,

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST
DANGEROUS TYPES OF DIGGING

OR EXCAVATING YOU CAN DO.

IN THIS AREA, PARTICULARLY WITH
THE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY,

YOU GET INSTABILITIES
WITHIN THE ROCKS,

BUT YOU ALSO GET GAS
IS COMING OUT

FROM THE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
SUCH AS SULFUR,

AND THIS CAN KILL
WITHIN MINUTES.

*

I'M REALLY NOT A SQUEAMISH GUY.
I'M NOT CLAUSTROPHOBIC.

I'VE CRAWLED THROUGH MASTABAS
AND PYRAMIDS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

NO PROBLEM,
BUT THESE TUNNELS ARE DIFFERENT.

YOU'RE TAKING YOUR LIFE
INTO YOUR OWN HAND.

AS YOU DESCEND DOWN, THE LADDER
IS COMPLETELY VERTICAL

AND MADE OF BAMBOO.

SO THE THE STEPS
WHERE YOU PUT YOUR FEET,

YOU GET ABOUT THAT MUCH
OF YOUR FOOT SECURED,

AND IT'S COMPLETELY WET.

I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER,
WHAT AM I DOING?

I COULD DIE. I COULD FALL.

IT TAKES ALL OF YOUR FOCUS
AND ALL OF YOUR ATTENTION

TO JUST GET DOWN TO THE POINT

WHERE NOW YOU HAVE TO WALK
ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES.

YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT EVERY DAY

YOU DESCEND DOWN INTO A TUNNEL
SHAFT LACED WITH CYANIDE.

THAT'S VERY PAINFUL.

YOU THINK, "OKAY, FINE,
I'M CRAWLING TO SOMEPLACE

THAT IS GOING TO LEAD
TO A REVEAL."

NO, IT'S GOING TO LEAD
TO ANOTHER BAMBOO STAIRCASE

THAT'S GOING TO GO DOWN
ANOTHER 60 FEET.

IT COULDN'T BE
ANY MORE INHOSPITABLE.

AND THE WORKERS KNOW
WHAT I'M LIKE.

THEY KNOW THAT
THERE'S COBRAS ALL AROUND.

I DON'T LIKE SNAKES.

AND THERE WERE SNAKES
IN THE TUNNEL.

WHEN YOU FINALLY GET
DOWN THERE AND REALIZE

THIS IS WHERE THEY'RE
WORKING EVERY SINGLE DAY,

KNOCKING WITH A HAMMER
AND CHISEL A FEW INCHES OFF,

HAULING IT BACK UP.

I-IT'S THE MOST
INCREDIBLE FEAT.

HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WORKING
DOWN HERE AT ANY TIME?

THREE IN THIS TUNNEL,
THREE IN THAT TUNNEL,

AND THE OTHERS BRINGING
THE MATERIAL UP FROM TOP.

THAT'S A LOT OF PEOPLE.
THAT'S A LOT TO COORDINATE.

OH, YEAH.

IT'S WEIRD BECAUSE HERE
YOU HAVE CYANIDE.

AND ON THAT SIDE,
YOU HAVE MORE CYANIDE.

SO IT WE WOULD NOT HAVE
FIND THE ENTRANCE,

WE WOULD HAVE HAD
A BIG PROBLEM.

WE WOULD HAVE LOST OUR LIFE.

WELL, I'LL TELL YOU
ONE THING.

THAT'S THE CLOSEST
I'VE BEEN TO DEATH.

I THINK IT'S VERY CLOSE.

THAT'S WHY I AM
EVERY DAY DOWN HERE CHECKING

BECAUSE I DON'T WANT
TO LOSE ONE OF MY FRIENDS.

DEFINITELY NOT.
-YEAH.

BECAUSE...

ALL THE GOLD OF THIS WORLD,

IT WOULD NOT BE
FOR ONE HUMAN LIFE.

YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
ABSOLUTELY.

THE REALLY INTERESTING THING IS
YOU FINALLY REACH THE BOTTOM.

HE HASN'T GONE ANY FURTHER.

YOU'RE AT THE VERY END
OF WHERE HE HAS GOTTEN TO,

AND YOU WOULD THINK, "ALL
I WANT TO DO IS SIT HERE,

EXPLORE, CONTEMPLATE."

NO. YOU WANT TO GET
THE HELL OUT OF THERE

BECAUSE YOU FEAR -- NOT THAT
IT'S GOING TO COLLAPSE ON YOU,

BUT YOU CAN'T IMAGINE
HOW IT FEELS TO BE THAT DEEP

IN SUCH A TINY SPACE.

YOU JUST WANNA LEAVE.

THIS IS NOT EASY.
THIS IS NOT --

OH, NO.

HEALTH AND SAFETY
WALK IN THE PARK.

IT'S DOWN DANGEROUS,

BUT THE REWARD
IS GOING TO BE HUGE.

HOPEFULLY YOU FIND
A LOT OF ANCIENT ARCHITECTS

AND HOPEFULLY ALSO GOLD

BECAUSE WITH THAT WE CAN TAKE
AGAIN OTHER PEOPLE.

I PAID FOR
THE OTHER EXCAVATIONS.

AND CONTINUE, OF COURSE.

Narrator:
BUT SOME LOCALS ARE SKEPTICAL

THAT ANYTHING IS LEFT
TO BE FOUND.

WHATEVER VALUABLES WERE
IN THE BANKS AT THAT TIME,

THEY WERE SYSTEMATICALLY LOOTED.

*

*

Narrator: THE LEGEND OF
THE JAPANESE GOLD

IS VERY MUCH ALIVE
IN THE PHILIPPINES.

IT'S SAID TO BE MADE UP
PRIMARILY

OF LARGE AMOUNTS OF GOLD BARS,

AND IT'S SAID
TO BE WORTH BILLIONS.

THERE ARE UNCONFIRMED REPORTS
THAT THE JAPANESE ARMY

BURIED THIS TREASURE
IN SEVERAL UNDERGROUND SITES,

WHICH THEY THEN BOOBY-TRAPPED
TO KILL ANYONE

WHO DARED TO BREAK IN.

THE MASSIVE TREASURE

HAS SUPPOSEDLY NEVER BEEN
DISCOVERED,

ALTHOUGH GOLD AND VALUABLES

HAVE REPORTEDLY BEEN FOUND
IN THE PHILIPPINES BEFORE.

IF THE JAPANESE HAD
BROUGHT TREASURE

FROM ALL THE OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES

INTO THE PHILIPPINES,

AS MANY PEOPLE HAVE SUGGESTED
OVER THE YEARS,

THEN THE VALUE OF THIS
WOULD HAVE BEEN INCALCULABLE.

Gough: THE TUNNELS THE JAPANESE
USED TO BURY THE GOLD

AND THE TREASURE
AND WHATEVER ELSE THEY HAD,

A LOT OF THOSE WERE
PRE-EXISTING.

NOW, KLAUS'S IS OVER
200 FEET DEEP

IN FOUR DIFFERENT SITES.

IT APPEARS AS THOUGH
THOSE ARE TUNNELS

THAT WERE CONSTRUCTED
PURPOSELY BY THE JAPANESE

'CAUSE IT WAS ON THEIR MILITARY
BASE NEAR THE OCEAN,

NEAR A HARBOR WHERE A SHIP COULD
COME UP AND THEY COULD UNLOAD.

SO THERE MAY HAVE BEEN
SOME SMUGGLERS' TUNNELS

THAT GAVE THEM A HEAD START,

BUT IT DOES APPEAR
DEEP TUNNELS WERE MANMADE

AND FILLED UP BY THE JAPANESE.

Narrator:
BUT DESPITE THEIR BELIEF

THAT THEY ARE ON THE HUNT FOR
AND VERY NEAR TO FIND

THE SO-CALLED LOST JAPANESE
TREASURE,

NOT EVERYONE BELIEVES
THAT IT'S THERE.

Walters:
TUNNELING IS REALLY ADVANTAGEOUS

TO THE JAPANESE
AS A FORM OF DEFENSE.

YOU CAN GET THE KIND OF SMALL,
WIRY LITTLE JAPANESE GUY

DOWN A TUNNEL, BUT YOU CAN'T GET
A GREAT BIG U.S. MARINE DOWN IT.

AND WE SEE THAT IN VIETNAM
20, 30 YEARS LATER.

SO ACTUALLY, TUNNELS ARE
ESSENTIAL FOR JAPANESE DEFENSE.

THEY'RE ESSENTIAL FOR HOLDING
FAR MORE USEFUL THINGS,

SUCH AS FOOD, AMMUNITION,
AND OTHER SOURCES OF SUPPLIES.

YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY, BOOTY
AND PLUNDER AND BARS OF GOLD

ARE PRETTY FAR DOWN THE LIST.

AND ACTUALLY, YOU'RE PROBABLY
NOT GONNA STORE THEM

IN A PLACE WHERE ENEMIES
ARE GOING TO TRY AND ATTACK.

YOU GONNA PROBABLY
WANT TO STORE THEM

IN THE SAFEST PLACE POSSIBLE,
AND THAT'S BACK HOME.

NOW, FOR ME,
AS SOMEBODY WHO UNDERSTANDS

THE LOGISTICS
OF MILITARY OPERATIONS,

THIS DOESN'T HOLD
A LOT OF WATER.

THE REASON IS,
IMAGINE ALL THE LOGISTICS

THE JAPANESE NEEDED TO GET
THOSE GOODS UP THE MOUNTAIN.

YOU WOULD HAVE NEEDED A SIMILAR,

IF NOT GREATER LOGISTICAL TRAIL
OR CHAIN

TO DO THE SAME THING,

GETTING IT DOWN THE MOUNTAIN
AND OUT INTO THE SYSTEM.

NOW, SOLDIERS TALK,

AND THE RUMOR MILL
AMONG SOLDIERS RUNS RAMPANT,

AND THE FACT THAT THERE HAVE NOT
BEEN ANY REAL CREDIBLE REPORTS

FROM SOLDIERS OR FILIPINOS
WHO SAID,

"I ACTUALLY CARRIED
SOME OF THIS PLUNDER,

THIS TREASURE DOWN FROM THE CAVE
OR FROM THE MOUNTAIN,"

TELLS ME THAT IT SEEMS UNLIKELY
THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE

TO PULL OFF AN OPERATION
LIKE THAT WITH SUCH SECRECY

THAT THERE'S ABSOLUTELY
NO EVIDENCE OF.

McMahon: IT'S OFTEN SAID
THAT THE JAPANESE MAY HAVE

DYNAMITED AND BOOBY-TRAPPED
THEIR OWN TUNNELS.

THERE'S EVEN ONE STORY THAT
GENERAL YAMASHITA HIMSELF

EVEN BLEW UP ONE
OF THE TUNNELS,

KNOWING THAT THERE WERE
A NUMBER OF HIS OWN SOLDIERS

INSIDE, AND HE ENTOMBED
THEM DELIBERATELY.

CONVERSELY,
IF WE LOOK AT THE WAY

THE AMERICANS CONDUCTED
THEIR WARFARE

IN THE REGION AT THAT TIME,

THEY COULD HAVE EASILY DYNAMITED
THOSE TUNNELS AS WELL.

THEY WOULD HAVE BELIEVED
THERE WERE JAPANESE SOLDIERS

IN A NETWORK OF TUNNELS
WAITING TO SPRING OUT.

WHY WOULD THEY BOTHER
TO ENGAGE THEM UNDERGROUND?

WOULDN'T IT BE BETTER
TO JUST DYNAMITE THEM

AND ENCLOSE THEM THERE
AND MOVE ON?

THE JAPANESE IMPERIAL ARMY
SEEMED TO BELIEVE

THAT THEY COULD HIDE
THIS VAST HOARD,

SO-CALLED GOLDEN LILY HOARD,
IN TUNNELS

DUG DEEP INTO THE HILLS
AS THEY RETREATED.

*

Narrator: BUT NOT ALL FILIPINOS
ARE CONVINCED

THAT THE TREASURE IS REAL.

DR. RICARDO JOSE IS AN EXPERT

ON THE HISTORY
OF THE PHILIPPINES.

HE DOES NOT BELIEVE
THAT THERE IS ANY GOLD

OR TREASURE BURIED ON THE ISLAND

AND DOES NOT BELIEVE THAT
KLAUS WILL DISCOVER ANYTHING.

Jose: I DON'T SEE THE LOGIC
OF BURYING TREASURE

IN THE PHILIPPINES,
PARTICULARLY IN 1944,

BECAUSE FIRST, THE GUERRILLAS
WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE.

THE GUERRILLAS WERE WATCHING.

THEY HAD EYES AND EARS
EVERYWHERE.

THEY WOULD HAVE KNOWN
WHAT WAS GOING ON.

THEY WOULDN'T
HAVE REPORTED THIS.

AND THEN SECONDLY, THE JAPANESE
COULD HAVE USED OTHER AREAS

TO SHIP THE GOLD
OR THE OTHER TREASURES.

THEY COULD HAVE USED VIETNAM,
TAIWAN, KOREA,

WHICH WERE THEIRS ANYWAY.

Narrator:
HE BELIEVES THAT THE TREASURE
WAS LOOTED BY THE JAPANESE ARMY,

BUT THAT THE GOLD AND BULLION
HAD ALREADY BEEN TAKEN

OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES
BY THE AMERICANS.

SOME OF THE TREASURES LOOTED
FROM PHILIPPINE BANKS,

MAY BE GOLD BULLION, WAS TAKEN
BY THE JAPANESE IN THESE TRUCKS.

IT WAS TAKEN OUT
IN FEBRUARY 1942,

WHEN THE AMERICANS FELT

THAT EVENTUALLY THE FORTRESS
OF CORREGIDOR WOULD FALL.

SO THEY MADE AN EMERGENCY PLAN

TO TAKE ALL THE PHILIPPINE GOLD
OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES.

WHAT WE DO KNOW
IS WAS IN DECEMBER OF 1944,

THE JAPANESE WOULD BEGIN
SYSTEMATICALLY LOOKING

AT EACH BANK

AND SIGNING RECEIPTS
FOR WHATEVER VALUABLES

WERE IN EACH OF THE BANKS.

AFTER THE WAR, IN FACT,

THE BANKERS WOULD SAY
THE JAPANESE TOOK THIS FROM US,

AND THIS WOULD INVOLVE PAPER
MONEY FROM BEFORE THE WAR.

IT WOULD INVOLVE COINS

THAT HAD BEEN PUT
IN SAFETY DEPOSIT BOXES.

WHATEVER VALUABLES
WERE IN THE BANKS AT THAT TIME.

THEY WERE SYSTEMATICALLY LOOTED.

*

Narrator: BUT MODERN-DAY
TREASURE HUNTERS

AREN'T DETERRED
BY THIS HARSH REALITY.

THEY FIRMLY BELIEVE

THERE ARE STILL PRICELESS
VALUABLES TO BE FOUND.

Gough: IF YOU'RE A TREASURE
HUNTER TODAY, DO YOU THINK,

"HEY, I'M GONNA GO BUY THE BOOK
AND GET A PERMIT

AND FIND THE TREASURE?"
NO, YOU DON'T.

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW
YOU'RE PUTTING UP A SIGNAL

TO THE GOVERNMENT
THAT YOU'VE GOT A TREASURE SITE,

AND THEY'LL PROBABLY KILL YOU
LIKE THEY KILLED ROGER ROXAS.

SO NOBODY ASKS FOR A PERMIT.

PLUS, THEY DON'T WANT
TO GIVE AWAY 30%

OF WHAT THEY FIND
TO THE GOVERNMENT,

AND THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T HEAR
ABOUT DISCOVERIES,

BECAUSE IT'S ALL
ON THE LOWDOWN.

THERE'S PLACES IN MANILA
THAT WILL MELT DOWN GOLD

AND PUT IT INTO
A MODERN STANDARD.

THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON.

Bellinger: TREASURE HAS BEEN
FOUND IN THE PHILIPPINES,

AND NO DOUBT TREASURE WILL BE
FOUND AGAIN IN THE PHILIPPINES.

IS IT GOING TO BE PROOF
OF THE YAMASHITA'S GOLD MYSTERY?

I NEED SOME REAL PROOF,

AND I HAVEN'T SEEN
ANY SO FAR THAT IT IS REAL.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH KLAUS
BELIEVES HIS SEARCH

IS NEARING COMPLETION,
CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD.

Dona:
THE CLOSER YOU GET,

THE MORE UNEXPECTED TROUBLE
ARE SHOWING UP.

*

Narrator: LEGEND HAS IT THAT THE
SO-CALLED LOST JAPANESE TREASURE

IS BURIED WITHIN THE ISLAND
OF LUZON IN THE PHILIPPINES.

IT'S SAID TO BE MADE UP
OF ANCIENT RELICS,

ARTWORK, AND MOST INTERESTINGLY,
LARGE AMOUNTS OF GOLD BARS.

IT'S SUPPOSEDLY
WORTH BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

THERE ARE UNCONFIRMED REPORTS
THAT AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II,

THE JAPANESE FORCES CONSTRUCTED
VERY SECURE TREASURE SITES.

THE ARMY BURIED IT ALL
IN NUMEROUS UNDERGROUND TUNNELS

AND PLACED EXPLOSIVES
AND POISONOUS GAS TRAPS

WITHIN THESE TUNNELS
TO KILL ANY INTRUDERS.

MANY PEOPLE, BOTH LOCALS
AND FOREIGNERS,

ARE IN THE PHILIPPINES
TRYING TO DISCOVER IT,

BUT SO FAR WITHOUT MUCH SUCCESS.

McMahon: THE THING ABOUT
THE PHILIPPINES IS IT'S LONG

BEEN TREASURE CENTRAL,
YOU KNOW, WAY BEFORE YAMASHITA.

YOU HAD RUMORS OF
AMERICAN BULLION BEING LOCATED

IN THE REGION,
BUT EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE,

THE SPANISH RULED THE
PHILIPPINES FOR 400 YEARS.

THINK OF ALL THOSE GALLEONS
LOADED WITH SILVER AND GOLD

COMING FROM THE NEW WORLD
THAT WERE SHIPWRECKED.

AND SOME OF THESE SHIPWRECKS
UNDOUBTEDLY EXIST.

SO THE PHILIPPINES
HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MAGNET

FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR TREASURE.

Narrator: AT THEIR UNDISCLOSED
EXCAVATION SITE

IN THE PHILIPPINES, KLAUS
AND ANDREW GO UNDERGROUND.

THEY HAVE DUG TWO TUNNELS
AT THIS SITE,

BUT DUE TO EXCESSIVE RAINFALL,

ONLY ONE OF THEM IS STABLE
ENOUGH TO ENTER.

Dona:
THREE TO FOUR WEEKS AGO.

WE HAD THREE WEEKS
CONTINUING HEAVY RAIN.

ONE TYPHOON, ONE MONSOON HIT US,

AND WE HAD A BIG PROBLEM
IN THE TUNNELS

BECAUSE IT WAS TOO MUCH WATER.

WE HAVE HERE WATER.

THE LADDER IS VERY SLIPPERY.

HERE WE HAVE A ROUND BORDER
AND MARKER

THAT WE SAW THAT WE ARE
ON THE RIGHT WAY

DOWN INSIDE THE AIR SHAFT.

AND I CAN SEE ALREADY

THAT THERE'S STILL
A LOT OF WATER IN THE TUNNEL.

Narrator: RESEARCHER AND WRITER
ANDREW GOUGH

IS A SELF-CONFESSED
MYSTERY ENTHUSIAST.

HE HAS INVESTIGATED
ALL MANNER OF STORIES

AND HAS SPENT YEARS RESEARCHING
THE LEGEND OF THE JAPANESE GOLD.

Dona:
YOU DID IT, ANDREW.

Gough:
THANK YOU, GUYS.

I'M PROUD OF YOU.

SO, THAT WASN'T SO BAD.
VERY EXCITING.

SO...ANDREW, THIS --
THAT'S RIGHT.

THAT IS OUR HEAT HOLE.
THAT'S THE...

AND NOW WE GO.
WE ARE FOCUSING.

AND WE GO -- YEAH. YEAH.

[ WATER DRIPPING ]

THE THING ABOUT KLAUS' WORK

IS THAT YOU WOULD THINK
AFTER THREE YEARS,

HE WOULD HAVE FOUND IT,
BUT THE FACT IS,

THE REALITY IS THESE CHAMBERS
ARE INCREDIBLY DEEP,

AND THAT'S WHY NOBODY
HAS FOUND THEM.

THEY'RE FROM A HISTORICAL
RECORD OF PEOPLE

AROUND THE TIME WHEN THE FIRST
CHAMBERS WERE EXCAVATED

INDICATE THAT THEY WERE ABOUT
220 TO 230 FEET DEEP.

NOW, KLAUS IS JUST ABOUT THERE.

HE'S PROBABLY WITHIN
10 OR 15 FEET OF THAT LEVEL.

IT'S ABSOLUTELY HUMBLING
TO BE DOWN HERE

AND TO REALIZE THE EFFORT

THAT GOES INTO
THESE INHOSPITABLE CONDITIONS.

I MEAN, I KNOW THERE'S
USUALLY NOT WATER IN HERE,

BUT, KLAUS, THIS IS EXTREME.

Dona: IT WAS -- IT WAS
A HORRIBLE TIME SOMETIMES,

BECAUSE SOMETIMES
YOU ARE NOT --

YOU CANNOT SLEEP
IN THE NIGHT.

YOU WAKE UP SWEATING.

YOU THINK, "ARE YOU
ON THE RIGHT WAY?

IS ALL THE TIME AND THE MONEY
YOU HAD TO SPEND FOR NOTHING?

DO YOU REALLY FIND
SOMETHING?"

BUT THANKS TO THAT GIFT,
WE WOULD WITHOUT THAT,

WE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO FIND THOSE PERFECT MARKERS,

THE CERAMIC WALL
AND ALL THIS,

WHICH GIVES ME THE KNOWLEDGE
THAT NOW WE ARE REALLY CLOSE.

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,
THE CLOSER YOU GET,

THE MORE UNEXPECTED TROUBLE
ARE SHOWING UP.

IT LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY
WOULD TEST YOU.

"IS HE REALLY ABLE
TO GET IT?"

IS HE THE RIGHT ONE
TO GET IT?

SO LET HIM GET
A LOT OF WATER.

LET HIM BLOW OFF THE GENERATOR
THAT BURN OUT THE PUMP,

AND THEN YOU HAVE TO COUNT.
CAN I BUY A NEW PUMP?

IT'S GETTING ALREADY TIGHT
WITH MY BUDGET.

WE WOULD BE LONG
ALREADY FINISHED.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO
PROGRESS NEXT?

WE GO -- WE BREAK THE CEMENT
WITH THE LEAVES,

AND THE ECHO SHOWS ME
THAT WE ARE CLOSE.

AND THEN WE SHOULD BE
IN THE FIRST ROW.

AMAZING. SO YOU'RE TALKING MAYBE
A WEEK OR TWO WEEKS OF WORK.

ONE, TWO, THREE WEEKS.

I DON'T KNOW HOW THICK
IS THE WATER.

AMAZING WORK.
AMAZING WORK.

*

ON THE WAY DOWN,
WE ALWAYS FOUND SPECIAL MARKERS

THAT GAVE US THE SECURITY

THAT WE ARE REALLY
ON THE RIGHT WAY.

FOR EXAMPLE,
WE'VE FOUND TRIANGULAR STONES.

WE FOUND ROUND STONE
WITH A HOLE INSIDE,

WHICH MEANS
ALSO CORRECT DESTINATION.

WE'VE FOUND INCENSE,

BIG PARTS OF INCENSE
IN THE HARD MATERIAL.

HERE YOU HAD -- WE HAD ALSO
WHITE -- A WHITE LAYER

SHOWING US THAT THAT'S ANOTHER
WAY TO A TUNNEL.

SO WE ARE HERE
ON A CROSSING POINT OF

ONE...

TWO...

THREE TREASURE SITES.

WHEN YOU FIND WHITE CEMENT,

THAT MEANS YOU ARE
VERY, VERY CLOSE,

AND WE WE GOT ALREADY
ON ALL FOUR OF OUR SITES,

WHITE LAYERS.

SO THAT'S MAKE ME SURE
THAT WE ARE NOW REALLY CLOSE.

AND ALSO WE FOUND CLOSE
TO THE WHITE,

WE GOT SOME LAYERS
WITH GOLD DUST.

WE GOT SOME LAYERS
WITH DIAMOND DUST.

SO THAT MEANS WE ARE DEFINITELY
ON THE RIGHT WAY.

I'M ASTONISHED
AT THE COMMITMENT

THAT AN EFFORT
LIKE THIS REQUIRES.

I MEAN, JUST LOOK AT THIS.

YOU COULDN'T POSSIBLY
HAVE MORE ARDUOUS CONDITIONS.

BUT EVERYTHING THAT
HE SAYS IS TRUE.

THIS IS ALL MAN-MADE.
IT'S ARTIFICIAL.

AND BY ALL ACCOUNTS,
HE'S REALLY CLOSE.

Narrator:
DESPITE FUNDING DIFFICULTIES
AND TORRENTIAL FLOODING,

KLAUS AND HIS TEAM
REMAIN DEDICATED

TO THEIR MISSION
OF FINDING THE LOST TREASURE.

THE FACT THAT WE'RE ON
THE CUSP OF SUCCESS,

I'M VERY EXCITED.

*

Narrator:
THE LEGEND OF A HUGE TREASURE

OF GOLD BARS AND VALUABLES

BURIED DEEP
UNDERNEATH THE PHILIPPINES

BY THE JAPANESE FORCES
AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II

IS STILL BEING SOUGHT TODAY.

IS THERE ANY TRUTH
TO THE MYTH?

AND IF SO, IS THERE ANYTHING
LEFT OF THE FORTUNE?

McMahon: IF WE ASSUME THAT
THE JAPANESE

TOOK SOME OF THAT TREASURE
OUT ON HOSPITAL SHIPS,

THAT THE AMERICANS USED
A BIG CHUNK OF IT

TO FUND COVERT ANTI-COMMUNIST
ACTIVITIES IN THE COLD WAR,

AND THAT THE MARCOSES GOT THEIR
FINGERS ALL OVER IT AS WELL,

WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES,
"HOW MUCH OF IT IS LEFT?"

*

Narrator: PERHAPS THE MOST
INTERESTING STORY

WAS THAT OF ROGELIO ROXAS,
A LOCAL CARPENTER

WHO CLAIMED TO HAVE DISCOVERED
A FORTUNE UNDERGROUND,

INCLUDING TREASURES AND VAST
AMOUNTS OF GOLD BULLION.

HE SAYS THAT THE FORMER
PHILIPPINES LEADER,

FERDINAND MARCOS,

SENT HIS HENCHMEN TO STEAL
WHAT ROXAS HAD FOUND.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

AT A SUBSEQUENT COURT CASE
IN HAWAII,

ROGELIO ROXAS

WAS AWARDED BILLIONS
OF DOLLARS IN COMPENSATION.

WHAT ROXAS FOUND
WAS FASCINATING.

HE FOUND THE SKELETON REMAINS
OF A JAPANESE OFFICER.

HE FOUND VARIOUS WEAPONS,
SAMURAI SWORDS.

HE FOUND 24 GOLD BARS
AND A GOLDEN BUDDHA.

THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
UNDER MARCOS

IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE HAD
TREMENDOUS AMOUNTS OF GOLD,

INCLUDING ROXAS'
GOLD BUDDHA.

BUT THERE WAS ALSO GOLD BARS
PUT BETWEEN PLASTER WALLS.

EVERYTHING WAS LAID IN
IN GOLD.

IT'S AS THOUGH THEY HAD COME IN
TO LARGE AMOUNTS OF GOLD

AND WANTED TO MAKE SURE
THAT EVERYBODY KNEW IT.

Narrator:
DESPITE NUMEROUS THEORIES

ABOUT WHERE THE VALUABLES MIGHT
HAVE GONE OVER THE DECADES,

KLAUS DONA IS ONE OF
THE MANY TREASURE HUNTERS

WHO BELIEVE IT'S STILL
VERY DEEP UNDERGROUND.

WE ARE ON THE BUNKER BORDER.

VERY, VERY HARD TO GO THROUGH
BECAUSE AS I HEARD,

THE BUNKER BOARDS
ARE BETWEEN 3 AND 5 FEET THICK

OF THESE
VERY, VERY HARD TO BEND.

WE HAD A BIG PROBLEM
IN THE TUNNELS

BECAUSE THEY WERE FILLED
WITH WATER.

SO WE HAD TO BUY ADDITIONAL
PUMPS TO PUMP OUT THE WATER.

ALL THE TUNNELS
ARE IN GOOD SHAPE.

NO DANGER FOR THE PEOPLE,
SO WE CAN FINALLY CONTINUE.

AND I'M QUITE SURE WE ARE VERY,
VERY CLOSE TO SUCCESS.

KLAUS HAS EXPENDED HUGE EFFORT
IN THE PHILIPPINES

AND REALLY TAPPED
INTO THAT BELIEF THAT THERE

IS TREASURE UNDERNEATH
THE GROUND IN THAT COUNTRY,

AND HE'S FOUND MARKERS
WHICH HE CLAIMS

THAT THE JAPANESE PUT THERE
LOCATING THE TUNNELS.

HE'S DUG HIS OWN TUNNELS.

HE'S USED DOWSING TO TRY
AND FIND THIS TREASURE.

BUT, YOU KNOW,
AFTER YEARS OF EFFORT

AND YEARS OF DETERMINATION

AND NOBODY CAN TAKE THAT AWAY
FROM KLAUS,

UNFORTUNATELY,
HE'S FOUND NOTHING.

Narrator: KLAUS, AFTER YEARS OF
SUPPORTING A LONG AND DEEP DIG,

IS VERY LOW ON FUNDS.

Gough: IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO
GET YOUR HEAD AROUND

HOW EXPENSIVE THIS OPERATION IS.

KLAUS IS A 70-YEAR-OLD AUSTRIAN.
HE'S RETIRED.

HE'S NOW HAVING TO EMPLOY
OVER A DOZEN PEOPLE.

I'VE STAYED WITH KLAUS
IN HIS HOME EVERY NIGHT.

THE WORKERS COME OVER,

AND KLAUS' PARTNER FEEDS THEM
EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.

AND WHEN I ASK THE CORE MEMBERS
OF HIS TEAM, DO YOU THINK

YOU'RE ABOUT TO DISCOVER
A JAPANESE TREASURE HOARD?

THEY SAY, YES, OF COURSE.

I SAY, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO
WHEN YOU GET YOUR SHARE

OF ALL THOSE MILLIONS?

"I'M GOING TO OPEN UP
A RICE FARM."

IT'S AS THOUGH THE QUEST
IS WHAT KEEPS THEM GOING,

NOT SO MUCH THE MONEY
AT THE OTHER END.

Narrator: PATRICK NICHOLAS HAS
WORKED WITH KLAUS'S TEAM

FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.

HE'S A FORMER
AIRCRAFT TECHNICIAN

AND HELPS LOCATE THE TUNNELS.

Nicholas: I MEAN, THERE ARE MANY
TIMES THAT I'VE SEEN HIM

GO THROUGH HIS CHALLENGES,

AND I'M THINKING TO MYSELF,
YOU KNOW WHAT?

I WOULD HAVE QUIT
A LONG TIME AGO.

HOWEVER, THE FOCUS AND DEVOTION
THAT HE HAS OF WHAT HE'S DOING

IS SOMETHING THAT I'D LIKE TO
REALLY GET CLOSE TO.

THE FACT THAT WE'RE ON
THE CUSP OF SUCCESS,

I'M VERY EXCITED.

YOU KNOW, AND I ALSO UNDERSTAND

THAT, YOU KNOW,
THE CLOSER WE GET TO SUCCESS,

THE MORE OBSTACLES
THAT WE ALL HAVE,

THE MORE CHALLENGES WE HAVE.

BUT WE JUST HAVE
TO STAY FOCUSED, YOU KNOW?

THANK YOU.
-SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

OKAY. HAVE A GOOD ONE.

OKAY.
-BYE. HAVE A SAFE TRIP.

BYE.
-BYE.

Gough: KLAUS IS
ABSOLUTELY RESOLUTE.

NOT ONE IOTA OF DOUBT THAT
HE'S GOING TO FIND THE TREASURE.

HIS MOTTO IS, "WE DIG IT.
NO WORRY. IT WILL HAPPEN."

Janulis:
WITH ALL OF THESE TREASURE
HUNTERS AND ALL THE LABOR HOURS

THAT HAVE GONE INTO DIGGING,
TUNNELING, EXCAVATING,

WHAT HAS BEEN FOUND SO FAR,
AT THE VERY BEST,

MAYBE WE KNOW THE GEOLOGY
A LITTLE BIT BETTER,

BUT IN TERMS OF TREASURE,
NOT A SINGLE THING.

Bellinger:
KLAUS DONA IS UTTERLY CONVINCED

HE'S GOING TO FIND
THIS TREASURE.

DOES THAT MEAN HE WILL?

THE HARDER YOU TRY,
THE MORE LIKELY YOU ARE

TO SUCCEED AT ANYTHING,
SO I SAY, "GO, KLAUS."

McMahon: SOMETIMES THESE THINGS
ARE ALL-CONSUMING.

YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY LOOKING
FOR TREASURE BECOMES A HOBBY

RATHER THAN AN END IN ITSELF,
SO GOOD LUCK TO THE MAN.

I'LL BUY HIM A DRINK IF HE FINDS
£20 MILLION' WORTH OF GOLD,

YOU KNOW,
OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.

BUT IN THE MEANTIME, YOU SHOULD
JUST ENJOY THE JUNGLE.