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WWII soldier was exemplary jungle survivor
About our two main enemies in World War II, it has been said that, as soldiers, the Germans were professionals and the Japanese were fanatics.
One of the fanatics, Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi of the Imperial Japanese Army, died this week (Sept. 22) in 1997 at the age of 82 — which is impressive when you consider that for 28 years, from 1944 until 1972, Sgt. Yokoi hid in the jungles of Guam, refusing to concede that the war had ended and Japan had been defeated.
It wasn't until two hunters stumbled upon him near Guam's remote Talofofo River that Yokoi finally surrendered and rejoined civilization. Even then, he was conflicted about not honoring the Japanese warrior code that says death is preferable to capture. "It is with embarrassment that I have returned alive," he said.
He was forgiven by his countrymen, who considered him a national hero. He even became a television personality who — no surprise — gave advice on austere living, which his 28 years in Guam's jungles certainly was.
His diet had been coconuts and nuts, plus the occasional crab, prawn, eel and rat (his favorite) that he managed to capture in the traps he built. To cook his meals, he made fires using the sun and a flashlight lens. By carefully cutting his army-issued canteen in two, he created a frying pan from one half of the canteen and a metal plate from the other. He also collected old cans and used them as water collectors and glasses.
As for clothing, Yokoi had been a tailor's apprentice before the war, which served him well as he managed to sew several outfits with a makeshift needle made from a piece of brass. The beaten bark from Pago trees was his fabric. His pants even had belt loops for the handmade belt he made from Pago fiber and wire. Given his constant challenge to keep on weight, having an adjustable belt was handy indeed.
His shelters were usually caves that he carefully dug to provide ventilation and privacy. When Japanese officials later examined his hideouts, they were astonished at how well camouflaged they were. Many times they were standing right next to the cave and still couldn't detect it. He also had a toilet hole that flowed into a nearby river and a hearth for cooking.
Though Sgt. Yokoi died of heart failure, his doctors agreed his 28 years in the jungle had not been a factor. Indeed, at his first physical exam, he was pronounced fit both physically and mentally, prompting some to muse that 28 years in the jungle seemed to be less of a hazard to one's health than, say, 28 years as a TV-watching couch potato.
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