24 Jan 2012 - Shoichi Yokoi survived three decades

Today I was talking to one of my work colleagues and he told me about this Japanese soldier who survived for nearly three decades in the jungles on a small island called Guam. I read the article, Shoichi Yokoi was the name of the Japanese soldier and back in 1944 he was stationed on the small island of Guam. In July of that year, US forces stormed the island, when the battle was lost and the command left the soldiers to fend for themselves, Shoichi and his men went into hiding. Having no way of contacting anyone, they took to hiding and removing all traces of their passage. It was considered the greatest shame to be captured by enemy soldiers, so avoiding the US forces and local populace became their way of life. Feeling that they would be easily detected in the more populated areas they moved into the jungles and fed on poisonous toads, river eels and rats. Many of the soldiers died in the first few years, shrinking the group to a few dozen. In 1964 the last of his men died, leaving him as the sole survivor. As Shoichi was a resourceful man he managed to survive until 1972 by  building himself an underground shelter and using his eel trap, made out of reeds, to catch his meals. When he was discovered by a local hunting group in 1972, he was still fearful for his life. Thinking that the hunters were US soldiers sent to capture him, he fought with them, but due to years of poor diet, he was easily captured. He returned to Japan to a hero's welcome, however he never managed to settle into modern life in Japan.

I found this story fascinating but also quite sad. On one hand he makes Bear Grylls seem like a bit of a part timer, and the way that he survived for so many years is astonishing. He was obviously a very resourceful man. However the story is quite sad if you think of the many years that he remained hidden, well after the war was over. The war ended in 1945, just over a year after the original battle had been fought, however Shoichi remained hidden for another twenty-seven years. Most of the prime of his life was spend hidden underground in the jungle on a small island, when it could have been spent with his family on the Japanese mainland in relative comfort. In our society was complain about the 27 minutes wasted whilst we wait for a meal at a restaurant, time we say we will never get back, or time wasted in traffic, or in a bad movie. I myself am guilty of voicing similar complaints, but if you add up all the times that I have complained and wished I hadn't wasted my time, I don't think it will ever in my lifetime add up to 27 years! Keeping that in mind, I think it is probably time for us all to stop complaining! 

If you would like to read the article it was on the BBC News online.