Yakamashi, Japan - For Seaman Orville Lawrence, World War 2 ended in May, 1999. He was rescued from his jungle bunker on Yakamashi Island, 13 miles off the coast of Japan.

The Mudpile has learned that Lawrence, a sailor on the USS Midfield, had been stranded on the island after the cruiser was sunk in the last days of 1945. He managed to swim to safety and immediately used his survival skills to construct a defensive bunker made of fish manure and bat droppings. Lawrence, now in his seventies, spent his time evading enemy capture, and lived off the land to supplement himself. His diet consisted of bugs, worms, roots and occasionally the odd sea turtle or electric eel. Over the course of his 50 year ordeal, Lawrence had seen many changes on the island, especially the construction of restaurants and hotels. " I thought the Japanese had taken over the entire world, and it was my duty to defeat them even if I had to wait a hundred long years.You'll never catch me at a sushi bar !"

Local resident Wing Chip Yang described how Lawrence had often attacked the villagers , pointing out one specific incident which happened just before his rescue - " I was tending to my goldfish pond when he (Lawrence) jumped out of the bushes and began shooting all the chickens in my yard...That's when I called the police."

Lawrence is resting comfortably at the Meddleton Veteran's Hospital in Cleveland, and apart from his enormous appetite, he is recovering well. Doctor's say it'll be awhile before he's released, because "he still hasn't quite accepted that fact that the Japanese people are not his enemies".

Above: Lawrence finishes his fifth chicken after
an enduring ordeal on Yakamashi Island, where he ate worms and insects.

"He is a loyal soldier and his respect for the nation is truly admirable..."
                                                  Harold D. Kingsley
                                                      Admiral -U.S. Navy                                               

" We tried to tell him the war was over, but he called us spies from the land of the rising sun."
                                                   Yoshimi Hong
                                                         Resident