There is an anecdote about him during the war; after having found the heavy-armed NAGAKURA's difficulty in climbing over a mud fence, SHIMADA easily pulled up NAGAKURA on the fence with his inborn superhuman strength.
その際に、重装備の永倉が土塀を乗り越えられないのを見ると島田は持ち前の怪力で永倉を土塀の上へ軽々と引き上げた逸話がある。