NOBUNAGAđŻđ”đŻ
@japan_nobunaga
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14h
In 1944, thousands of Japanese on Saipan hid in caves, sure the Americans would torture them if they came out. Many families chose the cliffs instead.
An 18-year-old American Marine from East Los Angeles walked up to those caves at night, alone, and called to them in Japanese.
His name was Guy Gabaldon. He was a Mexican American kid who had grown up partly in the home of a Japanese American family, the Nakanos. That is where he picked up his Japanese. When the war came, the Nakanos were sent to internment camps. Their twin sons, Lane and Lyle, joined the U.S. Army anyway and served in the 442nd.
Fifty years later, he still said it plainly: "These were Americans."
On Saipan, Gabaldon was a scout with the 2nd Marine Regiment. Right after landing, he slipped off on his own and came back with prisoners. His commanding officer, Capt. John Schwabe, threatened him with a court-martial for leaving his post.
The next night, he came back with about fifty.
After that, they let him go out alone.
He crawled to the cave mouths in the dark and promised the people inside water, medical care, and that nobody would hurt them. Night after night, ten or twenty at a time, they followed him out.
On July 8, by his own account, about 800 came out in a single day. Schwabe remembered that day too. It was the day they tagged him the Pied Piper of Saipan.
Not everyone listened. At the cliffs, he begged a mother not to kill her child. He watched her throw the baby and jump. He was still talking about it fifty years later.
His Navy Cross citation says that on Saipan and Tinian he brought in "well over one thousand enemy civilians and troops."
Schwabe recommended him for the Medal of Honor. He received the Silver Star. Sixteen years later, after Hollywood made a movie about him, the Navy upgraded it to the Navy Cross.
He died in 2006 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
I am Japanese. Those caves were full of my people, frightened, starving, and certain that the Americans were monsters.
An American teenager walked toward them in the dark and offered them water.
On this Veterans Day, Japan should know his name.
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Grok's analysis:
Yes, the core story is accurate and well-documented.
Guy Louis Gabaldon (March 22, 1926 â August 31, 2006), a Mexican-American Marine from East Los Angeles, served with the 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, during the Battle of Saipan (and later Tinian) in JuneâAugust 1944. At age 18, he used conversational Japaneseâlearned while living with a Japanese-American foster family (the Nakanos) starting around age 12âto persuade large numbers of Japanese soldiers and civilians to surrender rather than fight to the death or commit suicide.â Wikipedia
Key confirmed details
- He operated largely alone (âlone wolfâ style), approaching caves, pillboxes, and hiding places, often at night or in front of the lines, calling out in Japanese with promises of fair treatment, food, water, and safety.
- Official Navy Cross citation (upgraded in 1960 from an earlier Silver Star): He âsucceeded in not only obtaining vital military information, but in capturing well over one thousand enemy civilians and troopsâ on Saipan and Tinian through these efforts.â Valor.militarytimes
- A notable single-day event on or around July 8, 1944, involved him persuading roughly 800 to come out (often cited as the origin of the âPied Piper of Saipanâ nickname). Total figures commonly given range from well over 1,000 (citation) to about 1,300â1,500 across the campaign (including Gabaldonâs own accounts and secondary sources).â Web.archive
- His commanding officer, Capt. John Schwabe, recommended him for the Medal of Honor, comparing the scale favorably to Alvin Yorkâs World War I captures; the award was initially a Silver Star and later raised to the Navy Cross.
- He did witness mass civilian suicides at the cliffs (Marpi Point/Banzai Cliff area) and later expressed deep distress over them, consistent with the broader historical record of the battle.
- Background details match: He grew up in a tough East LA environment, lived with the Nakano family (who taught him language and customs; they were later interned), enlisted young, and was assigned in part due to his Japanese skills.
Nuances and minor caveats
Exact prisoner counts have some variation across sources (Gabaldonâs recollections vs. official citation language of âwell over one thousandâ), and a few contemporaries (including another interpreter) questioned whether he overstated sole credit or the military-vs-civilian breakdown, or minimized othersâ roles in larger surrenders. These are typical of wartime personal accounts and do not overturn the official recognition or the basic facts of his solitary persuasion efforts. The 1960 film Hell to Eternity dramatized (and Hollywood-ized) the story, with Jeffrey Hunter playing a taller, non-Hispanic version of him.
In short, the account shared in the X post is a faithful summary of a real and remarkable episode, supported by the Navy Cross citation, contemporary military recommendations, obituaries in major outlets (e.g., Los Angeles Times, New York Times), and historical write-ups. It stands as one of the more unusual and humane individual actions in the Pacific War.
