Did any Japanese or American combatants, after World War II, remain unaware of the war’s end for any appreciable length of time? The only way I can imagine it happening would be if the troops or units involved somehow lost all radio contact.
Even then, in normal circumstances, I assume that someone would realize that the missing troops were missing, and they would eventually be found, though here too there could be problems. If the missing man has to leave his last known position for whatever reason, then he’d be hard to find. And then, people do make mistakes and papers get lost or misfiled. It seems that if you had a perfect coincidence of unlikely events, then a “lost” soldier or platoon could remain “lost”.
So what’s the straight dope? Are there any documented stories of this happening?
There was this little Japanese guy with big, round glasses, who 25 years later came across an island of castaways …
While I don’t have the precise figures with me, several Japanese soldiers kept fighting in remote areas into the 1960’s, and one, Lt. Hirou Onada (might have mispelt this), was still active in the Phillipines until 1973 or 1974.
Looks like you spelt Onada correctly, Governor Quinn, although the site below spells his first name as “Hiroo.” He was found in 1974, according the the timeline on this site, No Surrender Japanese Holdouts.
Thanks for the links, Papermache Prince! I’m totally amazed, for I’d suspected that these stories were just a UL (so to speak), or a plot device of 1960’s sitcoms.
And a nod to you, ascenray. I too have fond childhood memories of watching Gilligan, the skipper too, the millionaire, and his wife, the movie star, and the rest. It was a totally ridiculous and stupid show, but not without a degree of charm.