Posted on 09/04/2006 3:50:12 AM PDT by lunarbicep
Guy Gabaldon, a Marine private in World War II who used extraordinary grit and a smattering of Japanese phrases to capture more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers single-handedly in the battle for Saipan, died Thursday in Old Town, Fla. He was 80.
The cause was heart disease, his son Guy Jr. said.
In mid-June 1944, Private Gabaldon took part in the invasion of Saipan, a part of the Mariana Islands, as a member of the Second Marine Division. Thousands of Japanese soldiers staged suicide charges against American lines over the next several weeks while entire native families leaped to their deaths from cliffs to avoid falling into American hands. But Private Gabaldon, going out on what he called “lone wolf” missions, brought the enemy back alive.
He earned the Navy Cross, the Marines’ highest award for valor after the Medal of Honor. It was presented to him as an upgrade from his wartime Silver Star after his exploits became widely known through the television program “This Is Your Life” and the Hollywood movie “Hell to Eternity” (1960).
“Working alone in front of the lines,” the citation read, “he daringly entered enemy caves, pillboxes, buildings and jungle brush, 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.”
In “Saipan: Suicide Island,” his 1990 memoir, Mr. Gabaldon wrote: “Immediately after landing on Saipan I decided that I would go off into enemy territory to fight the war as I saw fit. I always worked alone, usually at night in the bush. I must have seen too many John Wayne movies, because what I was doing was suicidal.”
Private Gabaldon hardly looked the part of a recruiting-poster marine. He was a shade under 5 feet 4 inches.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Man, what gonads! This guy probably took more Japanese than any other troop or unit in the war - alone. Definitely MOH material in my opinion.
God bless him and may he live in eternal glory with Our Lord ...
The reason I tell this story is that my girlfriend (who lives in NY) was told this story by him when she came over to visit on 4th of July weekend. He asked her if the "Pepsi Cola Canteen" was still around, he remembers celebrating with fellow servicepeople in that place on that day. Damned if she doesn't track down the Pepsi Cola historian on her return visit, they GAVE her a professionally framed color photograph of what the place looked like in the mid 40's, to give to him for his birthday. She's visiting here now, and we're going to give it to him tomorrow!
May he rest in peace. Prayers for his family.
ping
titanium cajones ping
My parents knew this guy. I remember them talking about him. Rest In Peace Marine.
Semper Fi.
How hard is it to capture prisoners?
I'm not a veteran myself so I'll let others give you a more direct answer.
It's easier to kill them.
From what I have read, there were very few prisoner of war camps for Japanese prisoners, and those were mostly in Australia and New Zealand.
If anyone knows the details of where these particular prisoners were sent, I would be interested in the details --- my guess is that they must have been divided since I don't think any of the camps that I have read about could have accommodated 1,000 additional Japanese prisoners in a single go.
It wasn't 1,000 prisoners in a "single go." He went out many nights on solo missions. The total was over 1,000.
He didn't get the attention -- or the medal -- he deserved.
Hahah
He was upgraded to the Navy Cross only in 1960. He originally got a silver star for all this!
Guy Gabaldon was a mexican american, BTW.
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