I remember news reports from the 1970's about old men being found on remote islands in the Pacific. They were Japanese Soldiers who never learned of the end of the war. Doesanyone else remember these reports or is there any other information anout such?
I can recommend this book I recently read Amazon.com: No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War (Bluejacket Books) (9781557506634): Hiroo Onoda, Charles Sanford Terry:… and a website on the subject No Surrender Japanese Holdouts After WWII
Here is a BBC Report. BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Japanese WWII soldier found alive This link provides a lot of information. Japanese Holdouts: Registry Regards Tom
I dunno you post a link and someone posts it again Tom you registry post is part of my link Whoopps, sorry. Regards Tom
Jason, I was just too slow checking the internet for the links and you replied much quicker. I'm getting slow in my old age Regards Tom
I know that the US forces when crossing the Pacific bypassed certain Islands that were deemed of no strategic. The Japanese forces stationed on these islands were left to "wither on the vine" as it were. The trouble with getting these people to surrender was that until August 1945 no-one had heard the Emporer speak so when he called for the forces to lay down their arms some soldiers took it to be a trick. This coupled with very poor communications ensured that some soldiers still fought on long after the cessation the conflict.
another book here I have the paperback Amazon.co.uk: the emporers last soldiers paperback The Emperor's last soldiers: The grim story of two Japanese who hid for sixteen years in the Guam jungle: Amazon.co.uk: Ito Masashi: Books
There is also a documentary which I have: The last Surrender. The subject killed at least one unarmed local so the inhabitants of that Island were furious that he was not put on trial. Got a heroes welcome when he got back to Japan. Not a suprise, they've done that more then once with war criminals.
