was a machine-gunner and sergeant in the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was among the last holdouts to surrender after the war ended.

War years and post-war survival

When the Americans recaptured Guam in July 1944, Itō was separated from his unit. He hid with two other soldiers and learned to survive in the jungle. For sixteen years, he hid even after finding leaflets declaring that the war had ended.

Surrender

When the last of his companions, Bunzō Minagawa (皆川文蔵), was captured by woodsmen in 1960, Itō was convinced to surrender on 23 May 1960, after 14 years and 264 days of Japan's surrender in World War II and was treated at a nearby American military base.

Later life

Itō married on January 7, 1961, and had a daughter. A movie was made about his life. He later worked as a watchman for the Toei Motion Picture Company in Tokyo. He wrote a book about his experiences entitled ''The Emperor's Last Soldiers'', published in 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Masashi 1921 births 2004 deaths Japanese holdouts Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Imperial Japanese Army soldiers Japanese expatriates in Guam