“He had to adhere to the Japanese Imperial Army code of never surrendering.”
Shoichi Yokoi lived in the jungle on Guam for 30 years, until 1972. For most of those years, his home was a hole in the ground which he’d dug himself. (Shown in image on right.)
Even though he had known that the war was over, he felt he had to adhere to the Japanese Imperial Army code of never surrendering. (Image source)
It ain’t over ‘til your boss says it’s over.
Hiroo Onoda continued fighting WW2 on a small island in the Philippines until 1974, even though he was told numerous times that the war was over.
He finally gave up when his (former) commanding officer went to the Philippines and gave him the official word – that the war had ended 29 years before. The officer then commanded him to put down his gun, and Onoda finally "surrendered."
At least these 2 guys had not died in such dramatic fashion as the kamikaze pilots had. (Image source)
Introduction to – “Notes from Under the Tatami Mats” (right-click on title)
Top 3 Kidnappings
Top 3 Crimes against Humanity Suffered by the Japanese
Top 4 Crimes against Humanity Inflicted by the Japanese
... and more
Links to my Other Series …
Introduction – "Intro to Vocab-ability" (right-click on title)
Guide – "Guide to Entries" (right-click on title)
Index– "Index" to all Chapters and Sections (right-click on title)
Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 1" (right-click on title)
Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 2" (right-click on title)
Images sourced from Google Images, unless otherwise indicated or unless my own.