PELELIU CLEAN-UP A DIFFICULT TASK
http://surviving-history.blogspot.com/2012/06/lone-wolf-us-marine-who-captured-1000.html
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.
‘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.’
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...........