Richard Sakakida was recruited into the U.S. Army in 1941 and was later stationed in the Philippines, but escaped the country before it fell to Japan.
He was recruited into the U.S. Army in March 1941, while America was still a neutral in World War II. After intensive training, on April 7, 1941, he and Komori set sail for the Philippines, then an American possession, aboard the USS Republic (AP-33). After the outbreak of hostilities with Japan, Sakakida was rounded up by the Philippine Constabulary and eventually ended up in Bilibid Prison, still maintaining his cover as a civilian, but he was recognized and released. In December 1944, Sakakida decided that the time had finally come to flee. The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas; Japanese: ; Hepburn: Nihon no Firipin Senryo) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. 
