Guy Louis Gabaldon (March 22, 1926 – August 31, 2006) was a United States Marine who, at age 18, captured or persuaded to surrender over 1,300 Japanese soldiers and civilians during the battles for Saipan and Tinian islands in 1944 during World War II. Though Gabaldon was recommended for the Medal of Honor, he received the Silver Star, which was upgraded by the Marine Corps to the Navy Cross in 1960. In 1960, a friend of Gabaldon's with Hollywood connections influenced the industry to make a movie about Gabaldon's version of events on Saipan called Hell to Eternity. He was called 'Gabby' by his friends, but he became known as "The Pied Piper of Saipan" for his heroism on that island. In 1964, he unsuccessfully ran for US Congressman in his Southern California district. In 1990, he authored a book entitled, Saipan: Suicide Island. Early years Gabaldon was born in Los Angeles, California. Gabaldon, who was of Mexican descent, was one of seven children. He was raised in East Los Angeles and, as a ten-year-old, he helped his family by shining shoes on Skid Row. Gabaldon became a member of a multi-ethnic gang known as the "Moe Gang". At age 12, he moved out of his home to live with the Nakano family, who were of Japanese heritage and whom he considered his extended family. He attended language school every day with their children and learned to speak Japanese. He also learned about their customs and culture. World War II At the outbreak of World War II the Nakanos, his "adopted" family, were sent to a relocation camp named the Heart Mountain Relocation Center, in Wyoming. He traveled to Alaska to work in a cannery. On March 22, 1943, Gabaldon's 17th birthday, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He received his basic training at Camp Pendleton, completed the Enlisted Marine Japanese Language School at Camp Elliot in San Diego, and was assigned to Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, as a scout and observer. The Pied Piper of Saipan The capture of Saipan was considered essential for the establishment of airfields which would accommodate the B-29 Superfortress bombers to be used in what was then the planned full-scale invasion of the Japanese mainland. On June 15, 1944, an armada of 535 ships, carrying 127,570 U.S. military personnel which included Marines from the 2nd and 4th