Tribal photos from WWII, where from?

I forgot I had some photos from my grandpa's WWII days. Anyone know the who & where about these? Thanks for your time.

 

And these...are they from a different region?

 

And these are unrelated.....Vietnam?

 

Somewhere I have a box of photos taken by one of my uncles when he was a WW II Seabee stationed somewhere in the Pacific. They weren't allowed to say where they were at the time and he passed away long before I was born. Nothing is written on the back. The women were dressed in similar fashion. Isn't that a Japanese soldier? The first ones look African and you can see men wearing pith helmets in the background. Where are our Japanese translators to tell us what that tree trunk says?

 

Thanks Bev, I wish I knew all the places he went . I really loved my grandpa so much, and just wish I would have listened to his stories more when I was younger. He was in the Coast Guard. Nothing is written on the backs of these either.
Is he Japanese? I wasn't sure. Also, I don't know if the tree with writing, and the soldier are from the same place.

 

Second vote for New Guinea, certainly for the top one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundu_(drum)

 

Thanks Davey & Persona.
I appreciate the help.

 

I'm not sure the photos are all from the same place. All are South Pacific, but I'd agree, the first is Papua New Guinea, based on the style of hand drums they are carrying, and the belt and neckpiece the man on the right is wearing.

The second photo looks more like New Caledonia, based on the type of house you see in the left hand corner, and on the clothing. New Caledonia men wore the wrap-around cloth, with the leaf/grass over-skirt. Traditional Papua style was generally a loin-cloth affair, much less covered up. The neck pieces they are wearing and the head bands are also New Caledonia style.

The second set of photos also looks like a similar mix of PNG and New Caledonia. Can't help with the writing, but these are some very interesting photos!

 

I won't be able to do it in the next couple of weeks - we have friends coming from Belgium and we'll be busy hanging out and eating lobster but I will look for my uncle's photos because I'll bet you guys can ID his too!

 

Wow, thank you soooo much Taupou! As always, you are amazing, and so thoughtful to help. There are more photos like these, but some of them might be a little risque to show.
Thanks again for the education, I will look into New Caledonia.
Bev, I would love to see those photos of your uncle's.

 

Great to have this category here. If we were back on eBay, the Photos board is scheduled to be combined with Electronics!

 

Not sure if we should laugh or cry at that combo!

 

The photo of the Japanese soldier is interesting. He must be at least field grade in rank since he has 3 rows of medal ribbons and the Japanese were not very liberal in awarding medal. Can you post a close up of the chest (medals) and collar tabs (Rank insignia)?

 

Thank you so much der adler1
Very interesting. Here are a few close-ups. I can't get them any clearer, as the picture isn't too clear. I tried darkening 1 of them. Thanks again for the help.

 

That's ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!

 

Looks like a Lieutenant Colonel. Which would explain all the medals.

 

Thanks again der adler1, that is great to know, and i really appreciate your help.

 

I can't make out the insignia on the cap, but I am going to guess infantry.

 

If you can post a close-up of the ribbons and a close up of the insignia on his cap, I might be able tell you more.