Posted on 12/06/2015 6:26:38 AM PST by WhiskeyX
World War II did not neatly end with Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945. At its height the Japanese Empire was more than 20 million square miles of land and sea. Soldiers in isolated regions fought on for years after the surrender some unaware the war had ended, other refusing to believe. Some hide in the jungles alone, others fought in groups and continued to make attacks and conduct guerilla warfare. These men were called Japanese Holdouts, or Stragglers and their stories are some of the most fascinating human interest stories of the 20th Century. Do you have a holdout story? Do you have info to make this site better?
(Excerpt) Read more at wanpela.com ...
NAt the end of the war, Japan had 3 million troops overseas. 2 million in China, 100,000 in the Marianas, 72,000 in the Solomons, 14,000 in New Guinea. Many Japanese soldiers, sailors and air men were bypassed by advancing forces and left stranded in many different island groups in the Pacific. They went into hiding, waiting for attacks that never came and messages from commands that had long since been disbanded. Short of supplies and lacking communication with Japan, and often without their commanding officers in the immediate area, many hid from Allied mopping up patrols in the thick jungles and mountains of the islands they occupied. It was months and in some cases years before these men realized the war was over.
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http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/history.html
Japanese Holdouts: Registry
China | Philippines | Saipan | Guam | Peleliu | Iwo Jima | Solomons | Indonesia | Thailand
http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/registry.html
Chronology Japanese Holdouts in the Pacific
1945
September 2, 1945 Japan surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor. Officially ends the war in the Pacific and WWII.
December 1, 1945 Guam Captain Oba and about forty-six other members of his force surrendered to U.S. forces. These were the last organized hold-outs of the Japanese forces in Saipan. Captain Oba's company of Japanese soldiers who held out after the Battle for Saipan hiding in the caves and jungles, carrying out occasional guerrilla actions against U.S. forces.
1946
January 25, 1946 Philippines A Japanese unit of 120 men was routed after a battle in the mountains 150 miles south of Manila.
February 1946 Philippines - on Lubang Island. 70 miles southwest of Maillia Bay a seven week campaign to clear the island was begun by the Filipino 341st and American 86th Division. Intense fighting developed on February 22, 1946 when troops encountered 30 Japanese. Eight Allied troops were killed, including 2 Filipinos. The Filipino and Americans sent for an additional 20,000 rounds of small arm ammunition, but not future battles occurred of this magnitude.
March 1946 Guam A Japanese band of unknown size attacked and killed a six man patrol on Guam on March 1946.
Early April Philippines - on Lubang Island. Forty-one members of the Japanese garrison come out of the jungle, unaware that the war had ended.
1947
End March - early April 1947 Peleliu Island - Band of Japanese lead by Ei Yamaguchi A band of 33 Japanese soldiers, commanded by Lt. Ei Yamaguchi renews fighting on the island by attacking a Marine patrol with hand grenades. At that time, only 150 Marines were stationed on the island, with 35 dependents. Reinforcement were called in to hunt down the hideouts. American patrols with a Japanese Admiral sent to convince the troops that the war was indeed over finally convinced the holdouts to come out peacefully. The band emerged from the jungle in two groups in late April, lead by Ei Yamaguchi who turned over his sword and unit's battle flags.
April 1947 Philippines - on Palawan Island. Seven Japanese troops armed with a mortar launcher emerged from the jungle.
June 1947 Philippines 4,000 of the 114,000 troops in the Philippines as of August 1945 were still unaccounted for in mid 1946. Only 109 miles from the capital, Manila, were signs warning about armed Japanese soldiers still in the hills.
October 27, 1947 Guadalcanal Island The last Japanese soldier surrenders. belongings included a water bottle, a broken Australian bayonet and a Japanese entrenching tool.
1948
January 1948 Philippines - Mindinao Island 200 well organized and disciplined troops finally gave themselves up on Mindinao.
Late 1948 China An estimated 10-20,000 well equipped Japanese troops were trapped in the mountains of Manchuria and did not surrender until late in 1948. They were caught in a no man's land of civil war stuck between the warring Nationalist and Communist forces and were unable to surrender.
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2005
Two Japanese Soldiers on Mindanao A report in early May 2005 talked about two former Japanese Army soldiers found on Mindanao Reportedly, their names were Yoshio Yamakawa, 87, from Osaka, and Tsuzuki Nakauchi, 85.
Doubts rise over Japanese WWII 'soldiers' From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
Japanese officials were studying new information to confirm whether two elderly men in the southern Philippines were soldiers left over from World War II, but suspicion was rising of a hoax or a trap set by kidnappers. The story of former Japanese soldiers ready to emerge from the mountains 60 years after the war has attracted a horde of media, mostly from Japan, to the city of General Santos on the troubled island of Mindanao. On the third day of waiting for a Japanese contact to produce the two men, Shuhei Ogawa, the embassy spokesman, said officials had sent information from several sources, including the Philippine government, to Tokyo for analysis. "We have a clearer picture now. That means it's easier to make a decision whether to proceed or not," he told reporters. Japanese officials met the Japanese contact - a trader who only gave his name as Asano, on Sunday, he said. Mr Ogawa said he had been told to wait in General Santos for instructions from Tokyo. He did not give details of the information or say whether it confirmed that the two men were the first cases in 30 years of wartime stragglers being found. Scepticism began to grow three days after the stragglers' story broke in Japan's media, because there has been no credible proof the two elderly men exist. Media named the pair as Yoshio Yamakawa, 87, from the western city of Osaka, and Tsuzuki Nakauchi, 85. The last known Japanese straggler from the war was found in 1975 in Indonesia.
http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/list.html
Profiles of Known Japanese Holdouts (Partial List)
http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/profiles/index.html
Internet Links There are few Internet links on this topic, despite the incredible nature of Japanese holdouts and their legacy. Please, send any additional links to me at justin@wanpela.com
http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/links.html
Japanese Holdouts Contact
Do you remember one of these holdouts, or have a account about an interaction of assocation with one?
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http://www.wanpela.com/holdouts/contact.html
I remember when the guy gave up in 1975.
Shortly afterwards, the Japanese commander receives a message as to the war's outcome and his unit surrrenders to Lewis.
I seem to remember a hold out on Guam who finally surrendered in the 70’s if I remember correctly. Probably out of fear of the island tipping over. Anyway, I went there in ‘47 as a babe in arms (well, not armed) and didn’t even know I might come under sniper fire. I could have one upped hildabeast. LOL!
I remember when two holdouts gave up from the Philippine jungle. This was in the early or mid 70s.
They were welcomed home as heroes.
Bernie Sanders is the last Commie holdout.
I watched a funny (as it turned out) video on youTube recently. A couple weeks after the surrender of Japan, a B-17 crew who were flying in supplies to various Army units in Japan were ordered to make a stop to deliver payroll to an Army company at an airfield in southeastern Honshu. When they landed, they noticed that the Japanese aircraft parked at the field all had propellers attached, contrary to the instructions the Americans had given the Japanese as part of the surrender plan. When they came to a stop they were greeted by a single Japanese guard, who spoke no English, but was armed and not in the least welcoming. He was soon joined by a platoon, led by a young lieutenant who was as perplexed by the presence of the Americans as they were by him. None of the Japanese spoke English anymore than the Americans spoke Japanese. The Japanese sent for a translator from the local village.
In the mean time, the American Army captain and his driver arrived to pick up the payroll. The Japanese didn’t know what to make of the situation, but with hand gestures, they allowed the nervous Americans - who were already engaged in occupation duties nearby - to drive off with the payroll. The translator arrived soon afterwards, accompanied by the local mayor. The translator was a young woman. She and the mayor explained to the Japanese troops that the war was over and that the Emperor himself had gone on the radio to explain the situation to the Japanese people. The Japanese air force had fled and abandoned the airfield without following MacArthur’s orders to remove the propellers from their aircraft, leaving the small Army detachment lead by a young officer on their own, without orders or telling them that the war was over.
The mayor insisted that the crew, who had not eaten all day be his guest at the best restaurant in town. He convinced the young officer to post a guard detail around the plane. They were lead on a tour, a “parade”, through the town where they were shown off to the local townspeople, who regarded them more with curiosity than hostility. After eating, they spent the night sleeping in the plane, guarded by the Imperial Japanese Army and flew off in the morning to return to base hours late, with one helluva story to tell.
“I remember when the guy gave up in 1975.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/17/hiroo-onoda-japanese-soldier-dies
Later
The other group are soldiers who decided not to return for whatever reason and became part of local populations. My understanding is they are generally regarded as deserters by the Japanese government which I believe would do little for them.
There are still potentially some Japanese who were teenagers at the end of the war are still alive who became part of local populations.
No chance that any holdouts are still alive.
Without the atomic bomb, this would have been the case in thousands of places.
The war might have still been going on in 1975 from guerrilla bands and hold-outs alone.
I read in national monthly magazine called “ World War II” or “ WWII History,”) something like that , bought at Borders magazine shelves back in early 2000s and there was a story about hold outs.
From what i remember, there was action in Burma in 1958. An organized Japanese Unit, not an individual. We sent in company or Battalion size units to “mop up” . Could that have been the last combat unit fire fights against the Japanese !?
I personally know several grandsons of the Confederacy who have never given up.
Lt. Onoda’s “unit” on Lubang Island contained multiple men as late as 1972. They got caught up in a firefight with the local constabulary, and one of Onoda’s men was killed. Previously Onoda and his men on Lubang had been written off as dead; this firefight renewed the push by the Japanese government to call their holdouts back from the jungle.
End of the thread and no one mentioned the Gilligan’s Island episode. Maybe I’m getting old.
Ginger coaxed 1 out of hiding.
No; however, we aren’t inbred as some Yankees like to think.
Our daddys moved on, fought, and DEFEATED Hitler, some of
them fighting under truly brave Yankee captains. TOGETHER,
they defeated Hitler, Hirohito and the whole bunch. - We
still remember our great great grandfathers who fought at
Shiloh and mingled the blood from their wounds with the
blood of Yankees in Bloody Pond, telling their children,
“Make no mistake about it. WAR IS HELL!”
You are correct - Local farmers on Guam discover Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi who was unaware that World War II had ended. Lots of locals said there were Japanese in the hills there and lived in caves.... Clothes stolen, food stolen.
I was attached to VQ-3 during that time(EC-130Qs)
LOL! I was attached to my mom and dad in ‘47 as a 3 month old. I think we stayed there until ‘50. My dad (Navy supply corps) helped re-establish the Bank of Guam. My mom used to tell me that I wouldn’t to go to sleep until I saw the geckos crawling on the screen.
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