Even if it sounds like fiction story, Guy Gabaldon did capture more than 1500 Japanese on his own. And at the beginning of his mission he even confront the authorities to do so. But let 's start from the beginning of the story. Guy was born to a Mexican-American family on March 22, 1926 in LA. He had 6 brothers. But when he was 12 he moved in with a Japanese-American family, the Nakano and there he learned some Japanese, but not only the language, but also their traditions and culture. At the age of 17 he decided to join the Army When he was only 18 he was sent to get Saipan back. Saipan is part of the Mariana Islands, and is located about 1250 miles away from Tokyo. Since it was an important Japanese strategic stronghold it was crucial to free it from Japanese invasion. This operation was called Operation Forger and started on …show more content…
He was once found surrounded by more than 800 Japanese, some of the still armed, but they were his prisoners, he had captured all of the in just one day. To get them to give in he would approach the caves and hiding place where the Japanese hid and bid them to surrender. He would tell them they were surrounded and that if they came out peacefully they would not arm them. He also promise them dignity and to get them back to Japan when the war was over. He didn 't enjoy killing, and he thought that his deeds could save thousands of lives, and he did save 1500 lives. Capturing the enemies kept them alive. This was not the only advantage, though, capturing them he could also get more information. All in all, by July 9, he had captured more than 1500 Japanese and local civilians during WWII, being his main weapon the knowledge of Japanese, cigarettes and candy. After serving for two years in the Army, he was wounded by a machine gun and so ended his service. After all this, he got his Silver Star upgraded to a Navy Cross, and though he was nominated to get a Medal of Honor, he didn 't get it. He claims that it was because of his Mexican