Battle Of Iwo Jima Stories You May Not Have Heard Before

As incredible as it might sound, not everyone got the message that the Battle of Iwo Jima ended in March of 1945. On January 10, 1949, nearly four years after the last shots were fired, the military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported that two Japanese sailors, Matsudo Linsoki and Yamakage Kufuku, had emerged from hiding on the island. Though there was nothing to verify their story, they claimed to have been from the former Imperial Japanese Navy and said they had been hiding out in the caves since February of 1945.

When they surrendered to U.S. forces in 1949, they were wearing American uniforms and had been living a nocturnal existence since the battle, wary of being found out and caught. Apparently, they had made a makeshift shelter in a cave, consisting largely of abandoned U.S. military supplies, and had even been giving each other regular haircuts. They had not even realized that the war was over, only finding out when they came across a newspaper just days before they turned themselves in.

One of the men, Kufuku, actually found his way back to Iwo Jima several years later. But tragically, after being unable to find his long-lost diary, he died by suicide off one of the island's cliffs (via "The Ghosts of Iwo Jima").

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

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