Oba, the Last Samurai: Saipan 1944-45

In July 1944, after 28 days of bloody battle, the island of Saipan was declared secured. All Japanese troops were assumed dead and all resistance ended. As in most Pacific battles, a number of enemy troops escaped to hide in the hills and jungle. Captain Sakae Oba, one of the Japanese soldiers on Saipan, a former high school geography teacher, organized a party of some 300 soldiers and civilians. He fed, clothed, and sheltered them in jungle villages and caves. Oba carried on a guerrilla campaign against the American garrison and refused to surrender until he personally received instructions from the Imperial General Staff.