Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam (2024)

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Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam? ›

On January 24, 1972, local farmers on Guam discover Shoichi Yokoi, a Japanese sergeant who fought in World War II, still hiding in the jungle—26 years after the official end of the war. Japanese soldiers had been trained that death was preferred to the disgrace of being captured alive.

As he got older, Yokoi became more nostalgic and would often recall his past years on Guam. In fact, he returned to the island several times before his death from a heart attack on 22 September 1997 at the age of 82. He was survived by his wife of 25 years, Mihoko.

He was given a hero's welcome on his return to Japan - but never quite felt at home in modern society. For most of the 28 years that Shoichi Yokoi, a lance corporal in the Japanese Army of world War II, was hiding in the jungles of Guam, he firmly believed his former comrades would one day return for him.

On January 24, 1972, Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi, was found by two CHamoru hunters in the jungles of Southern Guam. Yokoi had been stationed on Guam during the Japanese occupation, and like thousands of other Japanese soldiers, rather than surrendering, went into hiding in the island's caves and jungles.

Onoda, a Japanese army lieutenant, was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines late in the war to help with the fight against MacArthur's “return.” Under orders to surrender under no circ*mstances, he continued his resistance there until 1974, preying on the local islanders to survive.

“Some Japanese soldiers considered surrender a way of courting death, therefore contrary to the Bushido code.”[1] These societal norms, paired with the righteousness of a sacrificing one's life for the Emperor, led to unfathomable levels of commitment to victory.

As elsewhere, Guam's Japanese garrison fought practically to the last man. American casualties included some 1,700 dead and 6,000 wounded; Japanese deaths totaled some 18,000.

When he returned to Japan in 1974, Onoda received a hero's welcome – he was the last native Japanese soldier to return home from the war, and his memoir, published soon after, became a bestseller.

Yokoi's Cave is the cave on the island of Guam in which Imperial Japanese Army Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi hid until he was discovered in 1972.

Why was Japan so evil in WWII? ›

Militarism, nationalism and racism, especially during Japan's imperialist expansion, had great bearings on the conduct of the Japanese armed forces both before and during the Second World War.

Japan knew the United States was economically and military powerful, but it was not afraid of any American attack on its islands. Japan did worry however, that the Americans might help the Chinese resist the Japanese invasion of their country.

How tall were Japanese soldiers in WW2? Reddit gave the following answer: “During World War II, the average height of Japanese soldiers was 5 ft. 3-1/2 inches and 120 pounds, while the average height of an American soldier in WWII was 5 ft. 7 inches and 140-150 lbs.”

In a January 1972 press conference hosted by then Guam Gov. Carlos Camacho, at left, World War II soldier Shoichi Yokoi talks about his experiences as a straggler. He spent nearly 28 years in Guam jungles.

Onoda's grim determination personifies one of the most enduring images of Japanese soldiers during the war - that Japanese fighting men did not surrender, even in the face of insuperable odds.

Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese intelligence officer who for 29 years after the end of World War II continued to hide, fight and kill in the jungles of the Philippines because he did not believe the war was over, has died.

His submarine was recovered and taken on tours across the United States to encourage war bond purchases. After being taken to Sand Island, Sakamaki requested that he be allowed to kill himself, which was denied. He spent the rest of the war in prisoner-of-war camps in the continental United States.

In most instances the troops who surrendered were not taken into captivity, and were repatriated to the Japanese home islands after giving up their weapons. Japanese prisoners released from Soviet captivity in Siberia prepare to disembark from a ship docked at Maizuru, Japan, January 1946.

For Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, the war was finally over. He was the second to last Japanese soldier to surrender. The last man standing, Private Teruo Nakamura, would finally hand himself in on the 18th of December 1974.

Many holdouts were discovered in the jungles of Southeast Asia and the Pacific over the following decades, with the last verified holdout, Private Teruo Nakamura, surrendering on the island of Morotai in 1974.