LONE WOLF: THE US MARINE WHO CAPTURED 1,000 JAPANESE SOLDIERS

The American marines had crawled through the tropical undergrowth in order to gather intelligence on the Japanese positions.

Gabaldon: 'Surrender or I'll kill you!'

But as they reached the cliff-tops on Saipan Island, they found themselves blinking in disbelief.

A lone US soldier, Guy Gabaldon, was sitting on the ground surrounded by hundreds of Japanese troops. He had not been taken captive. Rather, he had talked them all into surrendering. Now, he was preparing to lead them to safety.

Gabaldon was something of a legend amongst his comrades. A tough-nosed 18-year-old from the barrios of East Los Angeles, he had already captured dozens of Japanese soldiers.

Battle of Saipan: but Gabaldon fought alone

Now, he’d made his biggest haul ever. More than 800 prisoners sat before him: diehard troops who normally preferred suicide to surrender. 

It was an extraordinary act from an extraordinary individual. Toughened by his American childhood in a multi-ethnic gang, Gabaldon had picked up Japanese from the family who’d cared for him. His language skills were to serve him well in the battle for Saipan.

The capture of Saipan in the Mariana Islands was deemed vital for any future land invasion of Japan. It was the ideal place to establish airfields for the American B-29 Superfortress bombers.

The attack on the island began on 15 June, 1944, and Guy Gabaldon was one of 128,000 American soldiers taking part.

Gabaldon (right) with prisoners

He was only too aware of the danger posed by the Japanese defenders; they were utterly ruthless and always chose suicide over surrender.

Gabaldon found it hard to work in a team. On his first night on the island, he ventured out alone and approached a cave where he believed Japanese soldiers to be sheltering. He shot the guards at the entrance and then yelled in Japanese: ‘You're surrounded and have no choice but to surrender. Come out and you will not be killed!’

A few minutes later, he had bagged his first two prisoners.

His commanding officer was furious that he had undertaken a solo mission and Gabaldon was almost court-marshalled.

Undeterred, Gabaldon repeated the exercise on the following night. This time, he returned with 50 prisoners.

Bang! Fighting in Saipan

His superiors were so impressed that they allowed him the rare privilege of working as a ‘lone wolf’ - a soldier who planned his own solo missions.

On 7 July, Gabaldon clambered up to the cliff-top caves of Saipan and overheard Japanese soldiers talking about a massive offensive due to take place on the following day. He passed this information back to headquarters, enabling them to successfully block the Japanese advance.

The next day, Gabaldon returned to the cliffs and captured two Japanese guards. He persuaded them to venture into the caves and talk their fellow soldiers into surrendering.

It was a high-risk strategy. Gabaldon was alone and completely defenceless against such a huge number of men.

A rare sight: Japanese prisoners

‘It was either convincing them that I was a good guy or I would be a dead Marine within a few minutes,’ he later said. ‘If they rushed me I would probably kill two or three before they ate me alive. This was the final showdown.’

There were a tense few moments as Gabaldon awaited the return of the guards. Then, from further down the cliffs, he heard the sound of voices. Hundreds and hundreds of Japanese soldiers could be seen walking towards him.

Gabaldon was both nervous and excited. ‘If I pull this off,’ he said to himself, ‘it will be the first time in World War II that a lone Marine Private captures half a Japanese regiment by himself.’

Hell to Eternity: the movie

The men were extremely jittery but they decided to surrender when Gabaldon assured them they’d receive medical treatment. Gabaldon found himself with 800 prisoners.

It earned him the nickname the Pied Piper of Saipan. It also earned him the Navy Cross, the Marines’ highest award for valor after the Medal of Honor. ‘Working alone in front of the lines,’ reads the citation, ‘he daringly entered enemy caves, pillboxes, buildings and jungle bush, frequently in the face of hostile fire, and succeeded in not only obtaining vital military information, but in capturing well over 1,000 enemy civilians and troops.’

Saipan today. More peaceful

His greatest moment came many years later, in 1960, when his story was turned into a Hollywood movie, Hell to Eternity.

He’d always seen his role as that of a movie star, even when fighting in Saipan. ‘I must have seen too many John Wayne movies,’ he said, ‘because what I was doing was suicidal.”

Suicidal but effective. By the time his combat days came to an end, he had captured more Japanese prisoners than any other soldier.

‘When I began taking prisoners it became an addiction,’ he said, ‘I found that I couldn’t stop. I was hooked.'

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I am the author of seven works of narrative history including the best-selling Nathaniel's Nutmeg and, most recently, Wolfram: The Boy Who Went to War. If you'd like to buy my books, click here for UK readers and here for US readers. For more information about my books, visit www.gilesmilton.com