- Born
- Died
- Birth nameGuy Louis Gabaldon
- Nicknames
- The Pied Piper of Saipan
- Gabby
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Guy Gabaldon (March 22, 1926 - August 31, 2006) was a Mexican-American who earned the moniker, "The Pied Piper of Saipan" for his persuasive exploits. At twelve years old, he was taken in by the Nakano Japanese-American family in an East Los Angeles neighborhood in Calfornia. During the next five years, he learned the Japanese language, as well as, gained an appreciation of Japanese culture and customs. On his 17th birthday, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines. A year later, he was sent to the Pacific theater for the invasion of the Marinana Islands. On his first night on Saipan, he brought in two prisoners, followed by bringing in fifty prisoners on the second night using words alone. After his second rogue success, he was allowed to operate as a "lone wolf" by his commanding officer. Ultimately, he would capture or persuade to surrender over 1,300 Japanese soldiers and civilians during the battles for Saipan and Tinian islands in 1944 during World War II.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- SpousesOhana Suzuki(? - August 31, 2006) (his death)June Gabaldon (divorced)
- Learned Japanese while living with his Japanese-American adoptive family. He was adopted when he was 12. At the outbreak of World War II his adoptive family was sent to a relocation camp in Arizona and he went to Alaska to work in a cannery. He joined the Marines at 17.
- Nicknamed "Pied Piper of Saipan" for his single-handed capture of 1,500 Japanese prisoners during World War II.
- Was nominated for the highest military award in the United States, the Medal of Honor, for his capture of 1500 number of Japanese prisoners by his commanding officer, Capt. John Schwabe. The Marine Corps initially down graded the award down to Silver Star, then upgraded it to the Navy Cross, an award just below the Medal of Honor.
- Has 9 children: 6 sons - Guy Jr., Ray, Tony, Yoshio, Jeffrey, and Russell - and 3 daughters - Aiko, Hanako, and Manya.
- Has 2 sisters who died after him: Florinda Gabaldon and Martha Jensen.
- My plan, as impossible as it seemed, was to get near a Japanese emplacement, bunker or cave, and tell them that I had a bunch of marines with me and we were ready to kill them if they did not surrender. I promised that they would be treated with dignity, and that we would make sure that they were taken back to Japan after the war.
- When I began taking prisoners it became an addiction - I found that I couldn't stop - I was hooked.
- Immediately after landing on Saipan I decided that I would go off into enemy territory to fight the war as I saw fit. I always worked alone, usually at night in the bush. I must have seen too many John Wayne movies, because what I was doing was suicidal.
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