4. The Stubborn Sailor
1944 was a bad year for Imperial Japanese Navy seaman Noboru Kinoshita. One day that year, while sailing in a troop transport off the Philippines, his ship was attacked and sunk by American planes. Kinoshita was one of the few survivors who managed to swim to safety, reaching the shores of Samar Island after hours in the water. He joined up with Japanese forces on the island, and accompanied them to Luzon.
1945 turned out to be an even worse year for Kinoshita. In Luzon, the sailor found himself transformed into an ad hoc infantryman, to fight US ground forces when they invaded. The Battle of Luzon did not go well for the Japanese, who were soundly trounced. When his unit was dispersed, Kinoshita struck off deep into the jungles of Luzon, successfully evading American forces and Filipino partisans. He stayed in the jungle for a decade.
