Nairaland Forum

At 16, Isaac Fadoyebo ran away from his home in southwest Nigeria and signed up to fight for Britain in World War II, a decision made from youthful exuberance that saw him sent to Burma to fight and nearly die.

Courage and luck kept him alive behind enemy lines as local farmers protected him for months until the British broke through and found him. When he returned home to Nigeria, his story and those of his fellow veterans largely fell away from the public's mind as independence swept through the country and a devastating civil war and political unrest later followed.

Fadoyebo, who died in November at the age of 86, represents one of the last so-called "Burma Boys" in West and East Africa. On Thursday, his family and friends gathered for a final worship service and celebration of his life, as new attention has been paid to his sacrifices and those of other Africans drawn into the fighting.

"There was this allegiance to the British; we would sing 'God Save the Queen.' ... Those who joined the war then were of course celebrated as heroes, not as we were celebrating them now," said Elizabeth Adenike Ajayi, a daughter of Fadoyebo. "But like much of Africa's history, there wasn't an attempt to get the history from the perspective of the Africans."

Fadoyebo served as a medical official in the Royal West African Frontier Force, a military comprised of Britain's then-colonies of Gambia, the country that would become Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Coupled with recruits from Britain's eastern colonies as well, authorities recruited some 500,000 Africans to fight.

Fadoyebo ran away from home and joined the force out of curiosity, the desire to have an adventure, the money that British forces paid and a "youthful exuberance," Ajayi said. Historians say many others joined for the same reason. Fadoyebo sailed with others around the Cape of Good Hope and toward India, later arriving in Burma, the country now known as Myanmar.

Shot in the leg and chest in battle, Fadoyebo drew the attention of Japanese soldiers who approached him with bayonets on their rifles. However, they left him alone, likely believing he'd succumb to his serious wounds. He survived, crawling to a fellow soldier still alive from Sierra Leone. Villagers later took them in and protected them for months, even though they could have been killed for aiding the African soldiers, according to accounts from him and his family.

Fadoyebo returned home to Nigeria, still then a British colony despite a growing call by nationalists for the nation's independence. Soldiers who took part in World War II from Ghana later sparked the 1948 Accra riots, the start of the nation's march toward independence. However, their Nigerian counterparts largely faded back into normal life as the nation gained its independence from Britain in 1960. Later that decade, some soldiers fought during the nation's civil war that saw 1 million people killed. At that time though, most of the military commanders in the nation came from a later generation.

History, however, has a way of fading quickly in Nigeria, a young nation that has seen its population boom to more than 160 million people. The British commonwealth still pays to have a portion of a Lagos cemetery where the graves of World War II dead still lie. A Nigerian military cemetery next to it for those who died in the 1990 peacekeeping missions to Sierra Leone and Liberia has trees growing out of the graves and overgrown bushes blocking people from entering a memorial there.

Fadoyebo ended up writing a book about his experiences called "A Stroke of Unbelievable Luck," while still receiving his disability payments from the British for his injuries into his eighties. He later was profiled as part of a documentary about Africa's contribution to British forces during World War II, drawing new attention to his incredible story.

"It is a surprise that I survived it. It's a miracle," Fadoyebo told journalist Barnaby Phillips in the documentary that aired on the satellite news network Al Jazeera. "I never thought I could survive it. I thought I was going to die."

Yet through it all, Fadoyebo remained humble, raising six daughters and retired from his job as a civil servant. His will calls for much of his estate to go toward establishing a clinic in the village where he grew up, Ajayi said.

"He was a focused man," his daughter said.

Paul John:
At 16, Isaac Fadoyebo ran
away from his home in
southwest Nigeria and
signed up to fight for Britain
in World War II, a decision
made from youthful
exuberance that saw him
sent to Burma to fight and
nearly die.
Courage and luck kept him
alive behind enemy lines as
local farmers protected him
for months until the British
broke through and found
him. When he returned home
to Nigeria, his story and
those of his fellow veterans
largely fell away from the
public's mind as
independence swept through
the country and a
devastating civil war and
political unrest later
followed.
Fadoyebo, who died in
November at the age of 86,
represents one of the last so-
called "Burma Boys" in West
and East Africa. On
Thursday, his family and
friends gathered for a final
worship service and
celebration of his life, as new
attention has been paid to
his sacrifices and those of
other Africans drawn into
the fighting.
"There was this allegiance to
the British; we would sing
'God Save the Queen.' ...
Those who joined the war
then were of course
celebrated as heroes, not as
we were celebrating them
now," said Elizabeth Adenike
Ajayi, a daughter of
Fadoyebo. "But like much of
Africa's history, there
wasn't an attempt to get the
history from the perspective
of the Africans."
Fadoyebo served as a
medical official in the Royal
West African Frontier Force,
a military comprised of
Britain's then-colonies of
Gambia, the country that
would become Ghana,
Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Coupled with recruits from
Britain's eastern colonies as
well, authorities recruited
some 500,000 Africans to
fight.
Fadoyebo ran away from
home and joined the force
out of curiosity, the desire to
have an adventure, the
money that British forces
paid and a "youthful
exuberance," Ajayi said.
Historians say many others
joined for the same reason.
Fadoyebo sailed with others
around the Cape of Good
Hope and toward India, later
arriving in Burma, the
country now known as
Myanmar.
Shot in the leg and chest in
battle, Fadoyebo drew the
attention of Japanese
soldiers who approached him
with bayonets on their rifles.
However, they left him
alone, likely believing he'd
succumb to his serious
wounds. He survived,
crawling to a fellow soldier
still alive from Sierra Leone.
Villagers later took them in
and protected them for
months, even though they
could have been killed for
aiding the African soldiers,
according to accounts from
him and his family.
Fadoyebo returned home to
Nigeria, still then a British
colony despite a growing call
by nationalists for the
nation's independence.
Soldiers who took part in
World War II from Ghana
later sparked the 1948 Accra
riots, the start of the
nation's march toward
independence. However,
their Nigerian counterparts
largely faded back into
normal life as the nation
gained its independence from
Britain in 1960. Later that
decade, some soldiers fought
during the nation's civil war
that saw 1 million people
killed. At that time though,
most of the military
commanders in the nation
came from a later
generation.
History, however, has a way
of fading quickly in Nigeria, a
young nation that has seen
its population boom to more
than 160 million people. The
British commonwealth still
pays to have a portion of a
Lagos cemetery where the
graves of World War II dead
still lie. A Nigerian military
cemetery next to it for those
who died in the 1990
peacekeeping missions to
Sierra Leone and Liberia has
trees growing out of the
graves and overgrown
bushes blocking people from
entering a memorial there.
Fadoyebo ended up writing a
book about his experiences
called "A Stroke of
Unbelievable Luck," while
still receiving his disability
payments from the British
for his injuries into his
eighties. He later was
profiled as part of a
documentary about Africa's
contribution to British forces
during World War II, drawing
new attention to his
incredible story.
"It is a surprise that I
survived it. It's a miracle,"
Fadoyebo told journalist
Barnaby Phillips in the
documentary that aired on
the satellite news network
Al Jazeera. "I never thought I
could survive it. I thought I
was going to die."
Yet through it all, Fadoyebo
remained humble, raising six
daughters and retired from
his job as a civil servant. His
will calls for much of his
estate to go toward
establishing a clinic in the
village where he grew up,
Ajayi said.
"He was a focused man," his
daughter said.
http://abcnews.go.com/story?id=18302660

hehehedotcom:
i blame GEJ FOR THE LATE REMENBRNCE OF THIS GREAT TYCOON.

hehehedotcom:
i blame GEJ FOR THE LATE REMENBRNCE OF THIS GREAT TYCOON.

Coefficient:

You are as senseless as your post. To think that you quoted the whole essay to write your f00lish opinion is beyond comprehension.

Gen. Orumov:

1.) I don't know if he his senseless since I haven't met him before, but I can't but side with you on this one after seeing him make a comment.
2.) Hehehedotcom, I don't believe you quoted that long post just to make a comment like that. What's GEJ concern with this issue?
3.) You should only quote posts that someone addresses to you or mentions you like I am doing and not the the whole content of the piece of news.

Coefficient:

You are as senseless as your post. To think that you quoted the whole essay to write your f00lish opinion is beyond comprehension.

Coefficient:

You don't have to meet him before you realize his senselessness. A sensible fellow wouldn't quote that whole article to give a line of f00lish opinion.

hehehedotcom:
i blame GEJ FOR THE LATE REMENBRNCE OF THIS GREAT TYCOON.