"Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam"

2015-09-11T17:42:32-04:00

From: BBC

For most of the 28 years that Shoichi Yokoi, a lance corporal in the Japanese Army of world War II, was hiding in the jungles of Guam, he firmly believed his former comrades would one day return for him.

And even when he was eventually discovered by local hunters on the Pacific island, on 24 January 1972, the 57-year-old former soldier still clung to the notion that his life was in danger.

"He really panicked," says Omi Hatashin, Yokoi's nephew.

Startled by the sight of other humans after so many years on his own, Yokoi tried to grab one of the hunter's rifles, but weakened by years of poor diet, he was no match for the local men.

"He feared they would take him as a prisoner of war - that would have been the greatest shame for a Japanese soldier and for his family back home," Hatashin says.

As they led him away through the jungle's tall foxtail grass, Yokoi cried for them to kill him there and then.

Using Yokoi's own memoirs, published in Japanese two years after his discovery, as well as the testimony of those who found him that day, Hatashin spent years piecing together his uncle's dramatic story.

His book, Private Yokoi's War and Life on Guam, 1944-1972, was published in English in 2009.

"I am very proud of him. He was a shy and quiet person, but with a great presence," he says.

Underground shelter

Yokoi's long ordeal began in July 1944 when US forces stormed Guam as part of their offensive against the Japanese in the Pacific.

Yokoi's eel trap

Yokoi's eel trap was one of his prize possessions

The fighting was fierce, casualties were high on both sides, but once the Japanese command was disrupted, soldiers such as Yokoi and others in his platoon were left to fend for themselves.

"From the outset they took enormous care not to be detected, erasing their footprints as they moved through the undergrowth," Hatashin said.
In the early years the Japanese soldiers, soon reduced to a few dozen in number, caught and killed local cattle to feed off.

But fearing detection from US patrols and later from local hunters, they gradually withdrew deeper into the jungle.

There they ate venomous toads, river eels and rats.

Yokoi made a trap from wild reeds for catching eels. He also dug himself an underground shelter, supported by strong bamboo canes.

"He was an extremely resourceful man," Hatashin says.

Keeping himself busy also kept him from thinking too much about his predicament, or his family back home, his nephew said.

Return to Guam

Yokoi's own memoirs of his time in hiding reveal his desperation not to give up hope, especially in the last eight years when he was totally alone - his last two surviving companions died in floods in 1964.

Turning his thoughts to his ageing mother back home, he at one point wrote: "It was pointless to cause my heart pain by dwelling on such things."

And of another occasion, when he was desperately sick in the jungle, he wrote: "No! I cannot die here. I cannot expose my corpse to the enemy. I must go back to my hole to die. I have so far managed to survive but all is coming to nothing now."

Two weeks after his discovery in the jungle, Yokoi returned home to Japan to a hero's welcome.

He was besieged by the media, interviewed on radio and television, and was regularly invited to speak at universities and in schools across the country.
Hatashin, who was six when Yokoi married his aunt, said that the former soldier never really settled back into life in modern Japan.

He was unimpressed by the country's rapid post-war economic development and once commented on seeing a new 10,000 yen bank note that the currency had now become "valueless".

According to Hatashin, his uncle grew increasingly nostalgic about the past as he grew older, and before his death in 1997 he went back to Guam on several occasions with his wife.

Some of his prize possessions from those years in the jungle, including his eel traps, are still on show in a small museum on the island.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16681636

Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam - BBC News

The story of Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who spent nearly three decades hiding in the jungles of Guam after the end of World War II.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 11 at 2015 5:48 PM

2015-09-11T17:48:39-04:00

I have heard this story before. Different time. Don't know that something like this could happen in today's world.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Sep 11 at 2015 5:57 PM

2015-09-11T17:57:27-04:00

I think I first became aware of this story when they alluded to it in a Gilligan's Island episode. Frankly, it's amazing the amount of fortitude he had.

We must remember that despite us being hostile, the people on the opposing side still had individuals worth admiring, like this man. There were monsters, yes, but, there was also greatness, and kindness.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 11 at 2015 6:08 PM

2015-09-11T18:08:35-04:00

The ingenuity of this man is incredible. I couldn't imagine a similar situation happening today, or even in the time frame that it did happen. Resolve strong enough to last for decades, that's...just wow.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 11 at 2015 9:57 PM

2015-09-11T21:57:53-04:00

I remember reading about this back in 2007 while visiting Guam's museum of natural history while TDY participating in "Valiant Shield. Guam is pretty much a postage stamp in size. It seems most mid size US cities have more real estate. Talk about taking SERE to a whole other level before there even was SERE.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Sep 12 at 2015 3:41 AM

2015-09-12T03:41:05-04:00

I remember hearing Mr. Yokoi's story when I was stationed in Guam. I'm going to have to get a copy of his book so I can read a first-hand account of his experience.

Response by SGT Scott Bell made Sep 12 at 2015 3:22 PM

2015-09-12T15:22:59-04:00

Man a long time

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 13 at 2015 9:08 PM

2015-09-13T21:08:50-04:00

I hope the Japanese Gov take good care of him