Islands occupied by Japanese soldiers after WW2?

[Volker_Nemsch]

OK its sounds funny somehow. During a TV report concerning Pearl Harbour a friend said that there several Japanese soldiers dicovered long after 1945. He said that the soldiers had no idea that the war was over for a long time (up to some years?). Are there reports about such "forgotten" soldiers or is it just fiction? Because of the "island hopping" of the American forces during WW2 it seems to be possible to a certain extent.

BTW, I remember an old Laurel and Hardy film where Stan Laurel was sitting in a trench somewhere in France for several years after WW1 simply because he was forgotten by his unit.

[PeterL]

I clearly recall one such being brought out of the jungle in the mid-seventies. The TV news media made much of the tearful re-union with the long lost sister.There must have been others.

[mike_baram]

There were several instances of Japanese soldiers hiding in the jungles of seveal Pacific islands. These were soldiers who never heard the order to surrender, mostly because they were the last of their units, and had no communications.
This phenomenon lies somewhere between "devotion to duty" and "utter stupidity".

If I remember right,one of these
Japenese soldiers,ended up on
Gilligans Island one time.
I always thought Mary Ann was hotter
than Ginger

[mike_baram]

If I remember right,one of these
Japenese soldiers,ended up on
Gilligans Island one time.
I always thought Mary Ann was hotter
than Ginger

Not only that, but Dawn Wells is still a knockout. According to her bio, she's 63 now.

Your right about that,I saw here on E
and she is still great looking and shaply

[45_Auto]

There is a really interesting book on the last Japanese soldier who was brought out of Lubang, Phillipines, in 1974. The book is: No Surrender My Thirty-Year War by Hiro Onida ISBN 0-87011-240-6

The book tells how Lieutenant Onida survived after Lubang was captured in March 45 and the "last" Japanese troops on the island surrendered in April of 46. Onida survived by stealing from the islanders and stockpiling items. The interesting part of the book is how he was able to preserve his equipment in this inhospitible climate, and what he had to do to elude capture on this 6X18 mile island. The Philipine army searched for Japanese holdouts through the years when reports of sightings/thefts from islanders would come through. Onieda's last buddy was killed in 1965 when he was found by the Phillipine Army. When Oneida came out of the jungle in 74 he still had his Arisaka and ammunition.

Now as for the most important part of this thread: No kidding Mary Ann is a "Hottie"! She always has been and always will be! She will always give Ginger Grant a run for the money in my book!

[Barrett]

Japanese soldiers held out in several islands, most notably the Marianas and Philippines. Some were uncertain the war was over; others didn't care. They still had food and weapons.
Break-break.
I have never known ANY guy who preferred Ginger to Maryann. Not one.

[mike_baram]

Ginger was the quintessential bimbo, whereas Mary Ann was the ultimate girl-next-door.
Ginger was phony and glitzy.
Mary Ann? Hell, give me pigtails and short shorts any time.

Well I used to be quite greedy when fantasizing about the Gilligan's Island cast.

I took on both Ginger AND Mary-Ann, The professor found some good tunes on the radio, i had snaked a bunch of mrs Howl's jewelry, Skipper was serving drinks and Gilligan was dead.

Then me and the girls got away on the Jap's pocket sub. Whoops it's a two man sub...sorry Ginger