19. American Corporals Pick Up Strange Hitchhikers in Iwo Jima
The holdout of Yamakage Kufuku and Matsudo Linsoki lasted until January 6th, 1949. That day, a pair of US Air Force corporals in a Jeep spotted two pedestrians in uniforms a few sizes too big, walking alongside a road. They took them for Chinese laborers, and although they spoke no English and were uncommunicative, the American airmen assumed they were hitchhiking to the island’s main base. So they kindly gave them a lift, and dropped them off in front of the garrison’s headquarters building.
From there, Kufuku and Linoski wandered around the base for hours. Eventually, a passing American sergeant thought there was something strange about the duo. He took a closer look, realized that they were Japanese, and took them in. After an initial interrogation, the duo took their captors to their hideout. There, the Americans found a cave richly stocked with canned foods, flashlights, batteries, uniforms, boots and shoes and socks, and sundry goods that the pair had pilfered over the years.
