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The attached tag looks to be a "war spoils" tag that would permit the soldier to bring the souvenir home. The owner was a member of Company A (1st Battalion) of the 386th Infantry Regiment which was part of the 97th Infantry Division which fought thru the latter stages of the war in Europe and then was redeployed to the Pacific in time to pull occupation duty in Japan.
"General Kramer and some elements of the Division arrived at Yokohama on September 24, 1945. The Division command post opened the following day at Miizugahara Airfield, located about 60 miles northwest of Tokyo. The 97th was assigned to XI Corps of the Eighth Army. Disposition of the Division's units for occupation duty began gradually, and by December the 97th had reached its maximum deployment. Units of the Division occupied six prefectures or provinces: Saitama, Gumma, Niigata, Nagano, Fukushima, and Tochigi. The terrain in the prefectures varied from rugged mountains to flat plains. The Trident Division was responsible for an area of more than 21,000 square miles having a population of approximately 12,000,000. This area is roughly equivalent to the land area of West Virginia. The size of the population is about equal to that of Pennsylvania.
During the occupation period, the Division's primary task was the confiscation and disposal of Japanese military weapons and equipment. Substantial quantities of small arms were collected and dumped in the ocean. Military aircraft, ammunition, and equipment were destroyed. Special teams collected and inventoried equipment, documents, and other items thought to have military intelligence value. Troops guarded Japanese military installations, airfields, railroad facilities, radio stations, and factories that had not been destroyed during the war. Food, gasoline, and clothing belonging to the Japanese military were turned over to Japanese officials for distribution to civilians. The engineers helped repair roads, bridges, school buildings, and some other public facilities. Division personnel were actively involved in humanitarian projects such as helping to provide medical treatment and food for orphans and other needy people. The 97th also located tons of silver bars and coins. These valuable assets were shipped to the Bank of Japan in Tokyo."
The number 17114200 is an enlisted service number apparently for G. M. Rowley. Unfortunately his record does not show up in NARA but the number 17 indicates that 1 (he voluntarily enlisted) and 7 was from Corps Area 7 which included the states of MO, KS, NB, CO, IA, MN, ND, SD, WY. The numbers that do come up around his number indicate RESIDENCE in Minnesota. But very important to note that PLACE OF ENLISTMENT for these numbers is literally all over the country. So it is a good "guess" that he was from Minnesota. But WHERE he walked thru the gate is undetermined. Most men in these number groups were born in 1920 to 1923. I did not find a likely match in SSDI or mention on the National WW2 Memorial, or in the veteran burial registry. Without an exact first name is is a little tough to determine his fate.
Found a George M. Rowley listed in the 1930 Census born in 1923 living in Beadle County, South Dakota (Corps Area 7)....hmmmmm
Hope this a little bit of a start in tracking the lineage of your new acquisition.
Edit: Sent you a PM...check your box....G.M Rowley may still be with us!!! Good luck.
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