Ron Mahonovich, 60, of Sharon was stunned when he came across what he believes to be authentic World War II photos that his mother salvaged years ago while she was working at a local hotel.

He said he'd forgotten all about the black and white pictures until recently, when he ran across them while cleaning out his mother's old apartment.

Among the various photos is the famous World War II snapshot of six soldiers raising the American flag at Iwo Jima. The other photos show Japanese soldiers dressed in suits and top hats aboard the battleship U.S.S Missouri in Tokyo Bay and a picture of what appears to be Adm. C.W. Nimitz, who is signing a document, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who is talking into a nearby microphone.

"These pictures are authentic, not fake," Mahonovich claimed.

Nearly 50 years ago his mother, Helen Lazor, 82, was employed at a local hotel where she discovered the photos. A male patron, who was staying at the hotel for several days, threw the pictures away.

"We're not sure why he threw them out. She just assumed the hotel guest was a professional World War II photographer and wanted to get rid of the memories," Mahonovich said.

He said his mother -- now lives in a nursing home and has Alzheimer's disease -- was both excited and shocked when she discovered the "large stack" of discarded photos. After looking through the photos, she noticed many of them were gory. Mahonovich said the grisly photos "were horrible."

"There was no resemblance whatsoever to what you see on television or at the movies. I saw all of the pictures. There were a lot of pictures of dead bodies. There were dead Japanese soldiers and (the pictures) were gross, too gross for my mother to keep. Death in the battlefield is gross and I think that's why she threw them away"

Ms. Lazor threw out the grisly ones, but she saved the others.

That was a costly decision, said Butch Dilley of Sharon, who helps his son Brian run Mole Hole Antiques, an antique e-bay Internet business.

He said World War II photos are "very popular" right now and the more gory they are, the more they're worth.

"Also, the more soldiers there are in the photo, the more value they have," Dilley said.

Over the years, Ms. Lazor stored the pictures and kept them in mint condition. Mahonovich said that before he found the photos, he was hoping his mother had saved them but didn't honestly think they still existed.

Mahonovich said he would like to know if they have any value so he can find out how much they're worth. He said he has gone to several local antique shops, including a World War memorabilia shop,seeking to find out,but said no one is quite sure.

"They all tell me to just save (the pictures),"he said."So I 'll keep them,if nothing else.

Steve Koosh,a World War II memorabilia dealer,said he would have to examine Mahonovich 's photos to be certain they are genuine and added that the picture of the six soldiers in Iwo Jima "is pretty popular."

He runs Koosh 's Antiques and Coins in Hermitage,which is a booth located inside Flipside Records on North Hermitage Road.He said an authentic photo can usually be distinguished from a fake in several ways. The main way to tell is the old yellowish color that older photos get as they age,he said.Any printing on the backside also helps,he said. Dilley said authentics can be distinguished by the type of paper an the subject in the photo.He said most pictures from the '40s and '50s have the maker printed on the back. Koosh said he 's been a military dealer for 35 years and carries "a lot of military items."He said he sells a large number of American and German patches,medals and other World War II items.

"My motto is,if it looks too good to be true,it probably is," he said.