[music playing]
NARRATOR: Did the
US government steal
the lost gold of
World War II and use
it to fund the Cold War?
During World War II, Japan
plundered Asia for a fortune
worth billions.
Some claim it remains buried
throughout the Filipino
countryside, where
treasure hunters continue
to search for the bounty.
It is said that Japanese
General Tomoyuki
Yamashita was in charge
of hiding the stolen gold.
After Japan's surrender,
the allies took him
into custody for war crimes.
The commission finds you
guilty as charged and sentences
you to death by hanging.
NARRATOR: Yamashita was
executed without revealing
the location of the treasure.
But one theory contends
that the American government
found it anyway.
Some say that US intelligence
tortured Yamashita's driver,
who revealed
information that led
military intelligence officer
Edward Lansdale to a dozen
of Yamashita's vaults.
Lansdale is said to have then
traveled to Tokyo to brief
General Douglas MacArthur
about the massive fortune they
had found.
President Truman was
allegedly informed
and decided to keep
the operation going.
Even before they knew
of Yamashita's gold,
the American government
had allegedly
come up with a plan
to handle the plunder
of a different enemy--
the Nazis.
According to one theory,
Secretary of War Henry Stimson
and his associates supposedly
set up the Black Eagle Trust,
a covert system of
funds that would be used
to capture the
wealth the Nazis had
acquired throughout the war.
If it was ever revealed how much
gold was supposedly recovered
from the Axis
enemies, some say it
would throw the US and
global economies into chaos.
So it remained a secret.
The Americans supposedly
transferred the Japanese gold
to 176 bank accounts in
42 different countries,
with some of it sent
to Great Britain
and other Allied nations
recovering from the war.
And some believe the Black Eagle
Trust was used during the Cold
War to secretly
fund military action
against Soviet Allied
nations and movements
throughout the world.
But even if the Americans
did discover and seize
Yamashita's gold, there are
treasure hunters convinced
they didn't find it all.
And they're risking
their lives to uncover
the lost gold of World War II.
Oh, here we go, baby.
[suspenseful music]
