Shoichi Yokoi - wikipedia Shoichi Yokoi Shōichi Yokoi Shōichi Yokoi Native name 横井 庄 一 ( 1915 - 03 - 31 ) March 31, 1915 Saori, Aichi Prefecture, Empire of Japan September 22, 1997 ( 1997 - 09 - 22 ) ( aged 82 ) Nagoya, Japan Allegiance Empire of Japan Service / branch Imperial Japanese Army 1941 -- 1944 Years of service 1941 -- 1972 Rank Sergeant Battles / wars World War II Second Battle of Guam Shōichi Yokoi ( 横井 庄 一, Yokoi Shōichi, March 31, 1915 -- September 22, 1997 ) was a Japanese sergeant in the Imperial Japanese Army ( IJA ) during the Second World War. He was among the last three Japanese holdouts to be found after the end of hostilities in 1945, discovered in the jungles of Guam on 24 January 1972, almost 28 years after US forces had regained control of the island in 1944. Contents 1 Early life 2 War years and post-war survival 3 Capture 4 Later life 5 Museum 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links Early life Yokoi was born in Saori, Aichi Prefecture. He was an apprentice tailor when he was conscripted in 1941. War years and post-war survival Visitors to Guam can take a short ropeway ride to `` Yokoi 's Cave '', a tourist attraction / monument to Yokoi 's life located on the site of the original cave at Talofofo Falls Resort Park. The original cave was destroyed in a typhoon. Initially, Yokoi served with the 29th Infantry Division in Manchukuo. In 1943, he was transferred to the 38th Regiment in the Mariana Islands and arrived on Guam in February 1943. When American forces captured the island in the 1944 Battle of Guam, Yokoi went into hiding with nine other Japanese soldiers. Seven of the original ten eventually moved away and only three remained in the region. These men separated but visited each other until about 1964, when the other two died in a flood. The last eight years Yokoi lived alone. Yokoi survived by hunting, primarily at night. He used native plants to make clothes, bedding, and storage implements, which he carefully hid in his cave. Capture This newspaper photograph was described as Yokoi 's first haircut in 28 years. On the evening of 24 January 1972, Yokoi was discovered in the jungle by Jesus Dueñas and Manuel De Gracia, two local men checking their shrimp traps along a small river on Talofofo. They had assumed Yokoi was a villager from Talofofo, but he thought his life was in danger and attacked them. They managed to subdue him and carried him out of the jungle with minor bruising. `` It is with much embarrassment that I return, '' he said upon his return to Japan. The remark quickly became a popular saying in Japanese. Despite hiding for twenty - eight years in an underground jungle cave, he had known since 1952 that World War II had ended. He feared coming out of hiding, explaining, `` We Japanese soldiers were told to prefer death to the disgrace of getting captured alive. '' Yokoi was the antepenultimate Japanese soldier to surrender after the war, preceding Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda ( relieved from duty by his former commanding officer on 9 March 1974 ) and Private Teruo Nakamura ( arrested 18 December 1974 ). Later life This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2017 ) In this book, Yokoi 's autobiography is supplemented by a biographical account of his later life. After a whirlwind media tour of Japan, he married and settled down in rural Aichi Prefecture. Yokoi became a popular television personality and an advocate of austere living. He was featured in a 1977 documentary called Yokoi and His Twenty - Eight Years of Secret Life on Guam. He eventually received the equivalent of US $ 300 in back pay, and a small pension. Although he never met Emperor Hirohito, while visiting the grounds of the Imperial Palace, Yokoi said, `` Your Majesties, I have returned home... I deeply regret that I could not serve you well. The world has certainly changed, but my determination to serve you will never change. '' Yokoi died in 1997 of a heart attack at the age of 82, and was buried at a Nagoya cemetery, under a gravestone that had originally been commissioned by his mother in 1955, after Yokoi had been officially declared dead. Museum The Shoichi Yokoi Memorial Hall opened in 2006 in Nakagawa - ku, Nagoya. Admission is free. See also Japan portal Biography portal Hiroo Onoda discovered March 1974, Lubang Island, Philippines Teruo Nakamura discovered December 1974, Morotai Island, Indonesia Notes ^ Jump up to : `` Shoichi Yokoi '' Ultimate Guam. Jump up ^ Lanchin, Mike ( 2012 - 01 - 24 ). `` Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam ''. BBC News. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 12. ^ Jump up to : Lanchin, Mike ( 24 January 2012 ). `` Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam ''. BBC. Jump up ^ Lanchin, Mike ( 2012 - 01 - 24 ). `` Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam ''. BBC News. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 12. Jump up ^ Mendoza, Patrick M. ( 1999 ). Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Times : Heroes, Heroes, and Villains, p. 71. Jump up ^ Lewis, John. `` Japan 's WWII ' no surrender ' soldier dies '', CNN. September 23, 1997. ^ Jump up to : Corporal Shoichi Yokoi wanpela.com. Jump up ^ Shoichi Yokoi -- Police Report of Straggler on Guam Japanese Holdouts. ^ Jump up to : Kristof, Nicholas D. `` Shoichi Yokoi, 82, Is Dead ; Japan Soldier Hid 27 Years '', New York Times. September 26, 1997. References Hatashin, Omi and Shoichi Yokoi ( 2009 ). Private Yokoi 's War and Life on Guam, 1944 -- 72 : The Story of the Japanese Imperial Army 's Longest WWII Survivor in the Field and Later Life. London : Global Oriental. ISBN 978 - 1 - 905246 - 69 - 4 ; OCLC 316801727. Mendoza, Patrick M. ( 1999 ). Extraordinary People in Extraordinary Times : Heroes, Sheroes, and Villains. Englewood, Colorado : Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 1 - 56308 - 611 - 5 ; ISBN 978 - 1 - 56308 - 611 - 3. External links `` Thirty Years in the Jungle ! Could you do it ? '' -- a short biography. A photo of the entrance to Yokoi 's cave Shoichi Yokoi Memorial Hall Japanese holdouts after World War 2 1945 -- 1949 Captain Sakae Ōba Major Sei Igawa Lieutenant Hideo Horiuchi Lieutenant Ei Yamaguchi 1950 -- 1959 Private 1st Class Yūichi Akatsu Major Takuo Ishii Corporal Shōichi Shimada Seaman Noburo Kinoshita 1960 -- 1969 Private Bunzō Minagawa Sergeant Masashi Itō 1970 -- 1979 Sergeant Shoichi Yokoi Private 1st Class Kinshichi Kozuka Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda Private Teruo Nakamura VIAF : 26620557 LCCN : no89011977 ISNI : 0000 0001 0778 8505 SUDOC : 133038203 BNF : cb16250846w ( data ) NDL : 00096041 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shoichi_Yokoi&oldid=802039419 '' Categories : 1915 births 1997 deaths Formerly missing people Japanese holdouts Japanese military personnel of World War II Military personnel from Aichi Prefecture Hidden categories : Articles containing Japanese - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017 Articles needing additional references from January 2017 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Български Deutsch Español فارسی Français Frysk Italiano עברית 日本 語 Norsk Português Русский Svenska Tagalog ไทย Türkçe Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 23 September 2017, at 16 : 03. 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Question: when was the last japanese soldier found on guam
Answer: 24 January 1972