On January 24, 1972, two hunters in a remote area of Guam were attacked by an emaciated man. After being captured, he was identified as Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese WW2 soldier who had hid in the jungle for almost 30 years. When he landed back in Japan, he wept "I am ashamed that I have returned alive"
When Shoichi Yokoi was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army in 1941, he and his fellow soldiers were taught "to prefer death to the disgrace of getting captured alive." So when American forces invaded Guam in 1944, Yokoi fled into the jungle to avoid becoming a prisoner of war. But although he saw the pamphlets dropped above the country announcing that World War 2 had come to an end a year later, he still refused to surrender. Instead, Yokoi spent the next 27 years living in an underground shelter he dug for himself, weaving clothing out of tree bark, and eating coconuts, frogs, eels, and rats.
Then, in 1972, two hunters discovered him and turned him in to the authorities, who sent him back to Japan. Even nearly three decades after the war, Yokoi was ashamed that he'd been captured, telling the crowd gathered to greet him: "I have returned with the rifle the emperor gave me. I am sorry I could not serve him to my satisfaction." At the age of 56, Yokoi initially had trouble assimilating back into Japanese society, but he ultimately got married just nine months after returning home — and spent his honeymoon back in Guam.
Go inside the shocking story of Shoichi Yokoi and his refusal to surrender against all odds: https://allthatsinteresting.com/shoichi-yokoi
When Shoichi Yokoi was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army in 1941, he and his fellow soldiers were taught "to prefer death to the disgrace of getting captured alive." So when American forces invaded Guam in 1944, Yokoi fled into the jungle to avoid becoming a prisoner of war. But although he saw the pamphlets dropped above the country announcing that World War 2 had come to an end a year later, he still refused to surrender. Instead, Yokoi spent the next 27 years living in an underground shelter he dug for himself, weaving clothing out of tree bark, and eating coconuts, frogs, eels, and rats.
Then, in 1972, two hunters discovered him and turned him in to the authorities, who sent him back to Japan. Even nearly three decades after the war, Yokoi was ashamed that he'd been captured, telling the crowd gathered to greet him: "I have returned with the rifle the emperor gave me. I am sorry I could not serve him to my satisfaction." At the age of 56, Yokoi initially had trouble assimilating back into Japanese society, but he ultimately got married just nine months after returning home — and spent his honeymoon back in Guam.
Go inside the shocking story of Shoichi Yokoi and his refusal to surrender against all odds: https://allthatsinteresting.com/shoichi-yokoi