Samurai eternal battle: 60 years in the jungle after the war

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Samurai eternal battle: 60 years in the jungle after the war7 December 1941 Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the Great East Asian War began - as they called it in Japan. 2 September 1945, it ended with the signing of the Act of the unconditional surrender of Japan. But several Japanese soldiers did not find out about this and continued to fight in the jungles of the Pacific Islands ....

Klondike at the dump

October 14 1944, Private Ito Masashi and Corporal Iroki Manakawa accidentally lagged behind their company. A few minutes later they heard strong shooting - their comrades were ambushed. Masashi and Manakawa crawled away from a dangerous place, and so began their long-term wanderings.

When the emergency supply was eaten, the soldiers began to eat insect larvae, snakes and other exotic dishes. There were enemies around - local residents or enemy units, and Masashi and Manakawa hid from them far away in the jungle.

Later, Masashi said: “We were confident that our generals retreated from tactical considerations, but a day would come when they returned with reinforcements. Sometimes we lit fires, but it was dangerous, as we could be detected. I knew that I had to stay alive in order to fulfill my duty - to continue the struggle. We survived only by chance, because we stumbled upon a dump of the American airbase. ”

This dump has become a real Klondike for lost soldiers. The Americans threw away a lot of food and various things — the Japanese made dishes from cans, made cloth from scraps of cloth. But these pathetic patches did not save them from tropical storms, without stopping the rainy season. For two months in a row, Masashi and Minakawa sat in their shelter in their shelter, eating only frogs and larvae.

Once, two brothers fell out in misfortune, and Minakawa decided to walk away. Masashi recalled: “After he left, I wanted to scream at the top of my voice. I knew that one would not survive. For several days I made my way through the jungle, searching for Manakawa and found him. We hugged and vowed never to leave again. ”

Lunch of rats and frogs

The hermit's life ended for Japanese soldiers only after 16 years ... One morning, Minakawa went hunting and disappeared. Masashi was in a panic: “I knew that I would not survive without him. In search of a friend, I searched all the jungle. Quite by chance I came across a backpack and Minakawa sandals. I was sure that he was captured by the Americans. Suddenly, a plane flew over my head, and I rushed back into the jungle, determined to die, but not to surrender. Having climbed the mountain, I saw four Americans waiting for me there. Among them was Minakawa, whom I did not immediately recognize - his face was clean-shaven. He said that when he walked through the forest, he came across people, and they persuaded him to surrender. I heard from him that the war was long over, but it took me several months to really believe it. They showed me a picture of my grave in Japan, where it was written on the monument that I had died in battle. It was terribly difficult to understand. All my youth was wasted. That evening I went to a hot bath and for the first time in many years I went to bed on a clean bed. It was delicious!"

This story not an isolated case. Some soldiers spent even more time in the jungle. A sergeant of the imperial army, Shoichi Ikoy, once hid in the jungle during an American attack. And I lived completely alone, eating exclusively frogs and rats of long 28 years!

“I was all alone for so many long days and nights. Once I tried to scream and chased a snake, which crawled into my home, but it turned out only a pitiful squeak. My vocal cords were inactive for so long that they simply refused to work. After that, I began to train my voice every day, singing songs or reading prayers out loud. ”

He was accidentally discovered only in January 1972. Ikoi had already turned 58 by that time. He did not know anything about the atomic bombings, about the surrender of Japan. When he realized that for many years his imprisonment was completely meaningless, he fell to the ground and burst into tears.

Code of honor

Later on, in 1974, 52-year-old Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda was discovered on the remote Philippine island of Lubang. For many years, Nazal Onoda and his comrade Kinshiki Kozuka ambushed the Philippine patrol, mistaking him for the American. Kozuka died, and attempts to track down Onod failed to nothing: he hid in impassable thickets.

He spent thirty years in complete retreat, and was found by a special expedition sent by the Japanese government to search for soldiers remaining in the jungle.

To convince Onoda that the war was over, he even had to call his former commander — he did not want to trust anyone else. Onoda asked for permission to keep the sacred samurai sword he had buried on the island in 1945.

Onoda was so stunned to learn that the war had long ended, that he had to apply a long-term psychotherapeutic treatment. He said: “I know that many more of my comrades are hiding in the forests, I know their call signs and the places where they hide. But they will never come to my call. They will decide that I could not stand the test and broke, surrendering to enemies. Unfortunately, they will die there. ”

After a course of psychotherapy, Ononda was brought to Japan and allowed to meet with elderly parents. His father said: “I am proud of you! You acted like a real warrior, as your heart told you "...

A year later, Lee Quang Hvey, a Taiwanese, volunteered for the Japanese army at the beginning of World War II was found. He lived in the jungle, not far from the ocean, in a Taiwanese-style hut. Hvey ate mostly fish, which he caught at night with a dart made of pointed bamboo. The Taiwanese rushed to the feet of members of a search expedition, which was accompanied by local police, asking for execution, because he insulted the honor of the emperor by allowing himself to be captivated. Interestingly, this soldier was in excellent physical shape, despite the lack of food and complete loneliness for decades ...

In 2005, 87-year-old lieutenant Yosio Yamakawa and 83-year-old corporal Tsuzuki Nakauti, who disappeared in 1945, were found in the Philippine island of Mindanao. 60 years they fought their war ... The Japanese authorities are confident that in the jungle other last soldiers of World War II will hide and continue their search.

Of course, many Europeans or Americans do not understand why these people live in the forest, why they are not looking for enemy units to surrender to him. But in Japan, their behavior does not cause confusion. These soldiers are so fanatically devoted to their emperor that they prefer to hide in the jungle in order to avoid the shame of captivity.

These Japanese are descendants of brave samurai warriors who live according to their own code of honor. Their motto is absolute obedience to their commanders. Captivity is a shame and humiliation that would forever stigmatize them in the eyes of those whom they respect - friends, family, warriors. Such is the mindset of the Japanese soldier during the Second World War. And no matter how we treat these people, but, undoubtedly, their code of honor inspires respect ...
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  1. +1
    13 December 2012 11: 48
    Real soldiers. Even if their country lost the war, they are worthy of respect .....
  2. 0
    April 15 2015 11: 44
    Stunned .... so yes ...

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