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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001105A
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00:01 (Sounds of ocean) ♪ ♪
00:11 It happened on one of the beautiful tropical islands in 00:13 the Pacific, the island of Guam. It happened in the middle of 00:18 World War II, one of those American Marine landings on a 00:22 beach under intense enemy fire. (sounds of battle and ocean) 00:33 Here on this beach one of those unforgettable scenes played out. 00:39 Soldiers leaping from landing craft, dodging machine gun fire, 00:44 racing to find shelter somewhere in the trees lining the beach. 00:56 (Sounds of ocean roaring ♪ ♪) They left a lot of blood on this 01:08 sand, this pivotal point in the Pacific that they were trying to 01:11 take back from Japanese soldiers But they would succeed, defeat 01:16 the Japanese army dug so deeply into this island. They would 01:21 establish a base here, fly out bombers from this place and so 01:26 continue their advance all the way to Japan and victory. 01:31 But one of this island's most incredible stories happened much 01:37 farther inland, here in the thick jungle. Somehow World War 01:41 II carried on in this spot far beyond the surrender of Japan 01:45 in 1944. Somehow the war continued here until January of 01:53 1972. And it went on in the person of Shoichi Yokoi. 01:58 For 28 years he hid in an underground jungle cave fearing 02:03 to come out of hiding even after finding leaflets declaring 02:08 that World War II had ended. How could this Japanese soldier 02:13 avoid surrendering after his nation did for 28 years? Well, 02:18 you're about to find out and you're about to discover what 02:23 it has to do with you and your life. 02:26 ♪ ♪ 02:45 The battle for this island of Guam actually goes back a long, 02:50 long way. This is Fort Santa Agueda constructed in 1800 by 02:54 the Spaniards. It occupies a commanding position overlooking 03:00 Hagatna Bay. That all started with Ferdinand Magellan, the 03:05 first man to circle the world arriving here with his fleet in 03:12 1521. Then in 1565, the Spanish crown formally claimed Guam 03:17 as part of their empire. The Spanish built forts along the 03:23 coastline which protected the Umiteck Bay settlements. But 03:28 then came the Spanish-American war. In 1898 an American frigate 03:33 entered Hagatna Harbor with guns blazing. These cannons and those 03:38 stone walls just didn't have enough firepower and the city 03:43 of Hagatna would surrender the next day. Eventually America 03:48 would actually purchase this island from Spain for 20 million 03:52 dollars. But then some other guns took over. This is Japanese 04:04 artillery. In 1941, Emperor Hirohito's troops were sweeping 04:10 across the Pacific conquering island after island. 04:14 The Japanese conquest of Guam began on the 8th of December 04:19 1941 an hour after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Guam's insular 04:32 force guard and a limited number of Marines tried to fight back 04:36 but the Japanese had all the momentum. Their military power 04:41 was beginning to dominate in the Pacific and they soon 04:45 overwhelmed the defenders and forced them to surrender. The 04:53 Japanese would rename Omiya-Jima. Their heavy hand 04:58 would control the locals, the Shamura, for 31 months. They 05:02 would build up all kinds of defenses from hilltops to caves 05:07 in jungles, from pillboxes, bunkers, heavy artillery and 05:12 anti-aircraft guns to fighter planes and bombers. These dual 05:17 purpose anti-aircraft guns used high explosive armor-piercing 05:21 ammunition and could fire 300 rounds per minute. The island 05:26 bristled with these Japanese anti-aircraft and costal defense 05:32 guns. This limestone outcrop disguises a Japanese fortress 05:37 that was designed to pour deadly fire on U.S. troops 05:42 landing at Agat Beach. Before landing, aerial observers 05:46 thought this ridge was a simple sandhill but by walking around 05:51 the stronghold you can discover its lethal intricacy. 05:54 The camouflaged gun emplacements and bunkers linked by a network 05:59 of tunnels. 06:00 So taking back this island was a huge challenge. It began with a 06:11 record tonnage U.S. naval bombardment. 06:13 (Sounds of cannon fire) 06:19 Allied battleships did their 06:21 best to soften the Japanese defenses. The city of Hagatna 06:26 was nearly completely destroyed. And on the 21st of July 1944, 06:32 55,000 Marines would land right here on the sand below us on 06:39 Asan Beach. The Japanese launched a massive counter attack from 06:44 these highlands. The Banzai or suicide attack of the 25th of 06:50 July, 1944 was a carefully planned attempt to drive the 06:57 Americans back into the sea. (Sounds of ocean and battle) 07:03 What came next? Three weeks of fierce fighting that would claim 07:12 7000 Allied troops and 18,000 Japanese lives. But finally the 07:21 island would change hands once again. As the Allied forces 07:27 fought their way through the interior of Guam, many Japanese 07:33 Japanese units holed up in here were scattered and that included 07:38 of Sergeant Yokoi. He managed to hide out in a cave with just 07:42 a few other comrades as the sounds of bomb blasts and 07:46 machine gun fire enveloped the world around him. Yokoi was 07:51 determined, in fact, to not give up. Never give up! In the 07:57 Pacific, there would be many Japanese soldiers who gave up 08:01 their lives died, rather than surrender. There would even be 08:06 Japanese civilians who would leap off cliffs rather than 08:10 raise their hands in surrender. And that practice which shocked 08:20 the western world goes all the way back to the Samaria 08:23 tradition in Japan. Honor was the primary Samaria value. They 08:30 was similar in a way to the knights of the middle ages. They 08:33 fought out of extreme loyalty to their king or lord. In the 08:37 Samaria world you no longer exist if you give in to the 08:41 enemy. Your honor has disappeared. Your shame and 08:45 disgrace was unbearable. They preferred death to surrender. 08:53 And that filtered down through traditional Japanese culture all 08:56 the way to those World War II soldiers fighting in the islands 08:59 of the Pacific. Yokoi was definitely one of them. 09:04 Surrender wasn't an option. So he isolated himself from the 09:08 advancing Marines, isolated himself from any thought that 09:12 the island of Guam had surrendered to the Americans 09:16 and went into hiding. This is Noma Yokoi's underground jungle 09:24 cave. It's a reconstruction of the place where this soldier 09:28 lived in hiding for nearly three decades. Yokoi dug it out 09:33 by hand with a trowel that he fashioned from an old canon 09:38 shell. It was supported by strong bamboo canes that kept it 09:42 from collapsing. Yokoi's hiding place was located in a thick 09:48 bamboo forest on the side of a rolling slope that ended in a 09:52 small stream. The entrance to the shaft to the tunnel was 09:56 cleverly concealed. Bamboo slats were tied over the top and 10:01 bamboo leaves scattered over and around it covering and 10:05 concealing the opening of the shaft. Yokoi was very 10:09 resourceful. He used native plants to make clothes and 10:13 bedding. He designed and made many implements by hand. This 10:17 man even created a little bathroom and a little kitchen at 10:21 opposite ends of his small cave and he was able to fashion a 10:25 coconut shell lantern which burned oils. Yokoi had to hunt 10:30 for food while staying out of sight but he was able to build 10:34 little traps from reeds and bamboo to catch shrimp and eel 10:39 from the nearby river. In the pools near the waterfall he 10:43 would carefully set his traps. Here in this remote jungle Yokoi 10:50 lived all alone and eeked out a meager existence for 28 years. 10:55 He would silently walk along the jungle tracks and through the 11:00 bamboo forests always careful to stay out of sight. But he 11:05 managed to survive on a diet of nuts, berries, frogs, snails 11:10 and rats along with the occasional eel and shrimp. Yes 11:15 this where Yokoi kept World War II going far beyond the day of 11:20 surrender. And here's the amazing thing, this soldier 11:23 actually came across a leaflet in 1952 and it stated clearly 11:29 that the war was over, had been over for years. But Yokoi stayed 11:35 put in that cave. He wouldn't go out and face the world, a 11:40 world in which his nation and his emperor had surrendered. 11:44 He preferred to die alone rather than face the disgrace and shame 11:48 of being captured alive. Back home in Japan his family 11:55 finally gave up 11:56 hope of ever seeing him alive again. In 1955, after Yokoi was 12:03 officially declared dead, killed in action, his heartbroken 12:07 mother commissioned a grave stone and had his name 12:10 engraved on it 12:11 in an attempt to bring closure. Most people are aghast, 12:19 horrified when they hear about Yokoi's story. It's almost 12:24 impossible to believe that anyone would want to keep on 12:27 fighting like that and yet believe it or not this Japanese 12:33 soldier isn't that far removed from many of our lives, 12:36 many of our 12:38 internal struggles. A lot of us keep fighting on about very old 12:43 conflicts. Maybe it's a childhood trauma, maybe it's 12:47 something your spouse did to you years ago. Almost all of us have 12:53 wounds, scars, pain from the past and we usually think we're 12:57 over them. But the sad fact is that old war often simmers 13:02 inside us. Sometimes it pops up when we get terribly angry over 13:07 some little thing. Sometimes it's bitterness that begins to 13:11 harden us and make us bitter. Getting over some past conflict; 13:17 that's a very common human problem. In fact, it can be one 13:21 of life's greatest challenges. I think we can all grasp the 13:26 basic idea that the biggest war on this planet is the one 13:30 between good and evil. It transcends all national 13:34 boundaries and it's very much a part of the conflicts in our 13:39 hearts. Well, there was one man who claimed to take on evil, 13:44 confront it, challenge it and defeat it. That man was Jesus 13:50 Christ. And the climactic conflict came at the cross. 13:54 There Jesus said he would take on the sins of the whole world 13:59 in order to provide forgiveness for humanity. He took on, in 14:03 fact, the worst that human beings do to each other. He was 14:08 mocked, he was beaten, he was bloodied and then he was 14:12 tortured to death nailed to a beam of wood. But what many 14:17 people don't see in this historic event is that it's 14:21 hugely relevant to our chronic and bitter war with the past. 14:25 It's an essential way to get over the past. Christ triumphed 14:31 over evil, over all evil powers on the cross. He triumphed 14:38 decisively. The crucified Christ can say to the evil powers, I 14:43 took on the worst you can do to me. You didn't defeat me. You 14:47 couldn't turn me into someone like you. You couldn't draw me 14:51 into rage or bitterness or vengeance. My life proved so much 14:57 stronger in the end. Jesus won the war between good and evil 15:02 on earth. And that means that the war can be over inside us 15:08 too. All those wounds, all those bad things that happen, all the 15:14 things that still haunt us, they can surrender. And this is why 15:20 Jesus provided forgiveness at the cross. Jesus provided grace 15:27 at the cross. Jesus poured out his infinite love at the cross. 15:32 And those qualities can win over all the anger and 15:37 resentment and bitterness that try to keep us captive. Why was 15:43 Shoichi Yokoi stuck in this jungle right through until 1972? 15:48 Why did his life essentially stop for almost three decades? 15:53 Because his focus was on the enemy and that never stopped. 15:57 Everyone around him on this island of Guam was considered 16:02 the enemy. This man took enormous effort in remaining 16:06 invisible. He'd hunt for food only when he was sure no one 16:10 was around or in the middle of the night. He carefully brushed 16:14 overall his footprints here so that no tracks or signs could 16:18 ever be seen. But it all ended just over 40 years ago in 16:24 January of 1972. One evening two men from a village in the 16:29 southern part of Guam went out hunting. They were walking along 16:34 the Talofofo River when they heard something moving in the 16:37 tall reeds. An animal they thought and raised their weapons 16:42 But out came a very old wild looking man carrying a shrimp 16:46 trap. It was 56-year-old Yokoi. When the men approached him he 16:53 tried to grab one of their rifles, but malnourished and 16:57 weakened by years of survivor food, he couldn't overpower the 17:01 two hunters. Yokoi hadn't looked at another human face for eight 17:09 years. His last two surviving comrades who were also hiding 17:13 in the jungle had died in a flood in 1964. But no his eyes 17:18 didn't light up when he ran into these civilians. He didn't 17:22 express relief after decades of hiding in a cave. He panicked. 17:29 He tried to fight back. Why? because it was all about the 17:35 enemy. It was all about the disgrace and shame of 17:39 surrendering. This aging World War II Japanese soldier would be 17:44 turned in to the police. But then he was taken back to his 17:48 homeland of Japan and many people welcomed him as something 17:52 of a hero. Yokoi was among the very last Japanese soldiers to 17:58 surrender after the war. However even then Yokoi basically 18:05 expressed regret. What haunted him was the shame and sorrow of 18:10 being captured. He would say it is with much embarrassment that 18:16 I have returned. Believe it or not, that's a common human 18:23 problem. We don't often return from misfortune with joy. We 18:27 don't truly come back from bad things that happen to us. Why? 18:31 We're still focused on the enemy We're still repeating the bad 18:36 things they said. We're still going over the bad things they 18:41 did. We live in a world tainted by regret and remorse. We are 18:45 consumed by the wrong we've experienced. But we need to 18:50 accept that the war is over. Accept that fact. It's not about 18:55 the enemy anymore. Stop focusing on that and start focusing on 19:00 the man who gave up his life for you. Yes. His love is more 19:05 important than how you are mistreated. His grace is far 19:10 bigger than any wound you have. His forgiveness enables us to 19:14 get to a clean slate. Start day one again. Start all over again. 19:22 The book of Hebrews makes very clear just how we can move 19:26 beyond the dark past. Listen to Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2: 19:47 We can move to a much more positive place by fixing our 19:53 eyes on the One who endured the cross for the joy set before him 19:58 We can share in his joy. We can share in his forgiveness, his 20:02 grace, his love. That's how the enemy that keeps haunting you 20:07 can fade from view. Someone else someone who inspires and 20:13 perfects faith needs to be at the center of your life and that 20:17 Someone is Jesus Christ. Something quite different was at 20:26 the center of Yokoi's life here in the jungle. Now we have to 20:30 admit this Japanese soldier was quite resourceful. He made 20:35 himself a fish trap. He wove baskets and sandals. He crafted 20:39 hunting implements from bamboo. Yes, very resourceful, but all 20:46 his efforts, all his skills were really about one thing, 20:51 remaining hidden. In 1972 after he was welcomed back to his 21:00 homeland, Yokoi married and settled in this home. But he was 21:03 still something of a stranger in Japan. He could hardly 21:07 recognize Japanese culture in the 1970s with business booming 21:11 everywhere. He only remembered what things were like in the 21:17 1940s and so in an occasional TV interview he would become 21:21 an advocate for austere living. Yokoi died in 1997 of a heart 21:28 attack at the age of 82. He was buried here in the Nagoya 21:33 cemetery. Yokoi was buried under the very same headstone his 21:37 mother had commissioned for him in 1955 when he was officially 21:42 declared dead. But even though he was buried in this family 21:46 plot in a cemetery in his home town, Yokoi was still not quite 21:51 home from his jungle cave. Why? Because for so many years, 21:57 hiding had been everything to him. Well that's another thing 22:05 the pain of the past does to us. Old wounds make us hide. They 22:11 compel us to cover up those ugly scars. We like to pretend they 22:15 are not there. But, of course, as therapists have been 22:20 preaching for years, old wounds always surface anyway, often in 22:27 unexpected, destructive ways. And that is the second reason 22:31 Christ's victory at Mount Calvary can be such a huge 22:35 resource for our lives. This Jesus stretching his arms out 22:40 on the cross is about opening up This Jesus stripped beaten and 22:48 mocked before a multitude is about exposing yourself. This 22:53 bleeding his life out in the midday sun is about giving it 22:59 up to God. It's in this context that the apostle John tells us 23:04 this in I John chapter 1 and verse 9: 23:17 Confess, open up, be honest, stop trying to hide all the bad 23:27 stuff. We can do that best with the one who is faithful and just 23:31 and who pours out forgiveness from the cross. Stop hiding. 23:38 That's the only way you can move on from the pain inside, the 23:42 darkness inside. And God promises that when we do open 23:46 up to him he will purify us from all unrighteousness. He will 23:51 clean us out inside. He will end the war. He will bring peace 23:56 where there was chronic conflict John also wrote this: 24:08 Yes our hearts can be troubled. Yes our past can keep twisting 24:14 us. But God is greater than all that. And so John says we 24:19 can set our hearts at rest in his presence. The cross of 24:26 Christ, that iconic historical event, is really focused on your 24:31 heart. It's an invaluable resource that can make you so 24:35 much healthier and happier. Yes the longest of wars can end. Yes 24:42 the deepest conflicts can be resolved. You can stop hiding. 24:47 You can stop focusing on the enemy. You can fix your 24:50 eyes on Jesus, 24:52 the perfector of faith, the one who will set your heart at rest 24:56 and bring you peace. So please step out of your own personal 25:02 jungle. Please step away from your own little cave. There's a 25:07 bright light shining up there. It comes from the one who loves 25:10 you right now just the way you are. Why not start to give him 25:16 a chance right now as we pray? 25:19 Dear Father, thank you for this incredible gift of Christ the 25:24 victor, Christ overcoming evil on the cross. Thank you for what 25:29 he offers to do to each one of our hearts. We need it, Lord. 25:33 We badly need to get beyond the pain of the past, so we accept 25:39 this incredible gift of forgiveness and grace and love 25:43 flowing out of the crucified Christ. We place our faith in 25:47 him. We fix our eyes on him. We want to stop hiding and start 25:53 opening up to you from this day forward. Amen. 25:58 The story of Yokoi and his survival in his jungle cave in 26:07 Guam has captured the interest of people all over the world. 26:11 Many people are surprised and even horrified when they hear 26:16 Yokoi's story. It's almost impossible to believe that 26:20 anyone would want to keep on fighting for 28 years. 26:24 But believe it or not, this Japanese soldier isn't that far 26:30 removed from many of our lives, from many of our internal 26:34 struggles. Today I'd like to tell you about the free gift we 26:38 have that shares a solution you may not have considered. It's an 26:43 inspiring booklet called The Benefits of Belief. This popular 26:49 book shares the secret of finding true happiness in our 26:53 lives. It shows ways to deal with the challenges we face in 26:57 everyday life. This book is our gift to you and is absolutely 27:03 free. Here's the information you need: 27:06 Phone us now on 0481315101 or 27:15 text us on 0491222999 or visit our website, 27:22 theincrediblejourney.tv to request today's free offer. 27:27 So don't delay. Contact us right now. 27:31 If you've enjoyed today's journey be sure to join us again 27:38 next week when we will share another of life's journeys 27:40 together and experience another new and thought provoking 27:44 perspective on the peace, insight, understanding and hope 27:48 that only the Bible can give us. The Incredible Journey truly is 27:55 television that changes lives. Until next week remember the 27:59 ultimate destination of life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven 28:04 and a new earth. And God will wipe away every tear from their 28:08 eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. 28:12 There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed 28:16 away. 28:17 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-08-13