One Man's War: Hiroo Onoda's 30-Year Struggle for Victory

Hiroo Onoda, born on March 19, 1922, in Kamikawa, Japan, was a soldier in the Japanese army. He enlisted and joined a special operations unit. In December 1944, he was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines, where his mission was to reinforce the Japanese occupation and conduct guerrilla warfare against American forces. He received clear orders not to surrender to the enemy under any circumstances and to continue fighting from the jungle if necessary.

In February 1945, the US captured the island, and in August 1945, Japan surrendered, ending the war. However, Hiroo and his three fellow soldiers believed that this was all American propaganda. They were convinced that their real commanding officer would one day come to retrieve them.

Their life in the jungle was like something out of an adventure novel. They survived by eating coconuts, bananas, and wild animals, and had several violent clashes with local farmers and police.  These clashes resulted in the deaths of approximately 30 people and injuries to more than 100. In 1950, one of his companions, Yuichi Akatsu, surrendered out of exhaustion. In 1972, another companion, Kinshichi Kozuka, was killed in a shootout with the police. Now Hiroo was alone, and he continued fighting in the jungle for 29 years.

In February 1974, a Japanese student, Norio Suzuki, resolved to find Hiroo. After four days of searching, he encountered Hiroo in the jungle. Hiroo made it clear that he would only surrender on the orders of his commanding officer. Suzuki returned to Japan and located Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who was now working as a bookseller. On March 9, 1974, Major Taniguchi himself traveled to Lubang Island, dressed in his military uniform, and formally ordered Hiroo to surrender, explaining that Japan had surrendered in 1945 and that he was now free from his wartime duties.  Hiroo surrendered his rifle and sword, which still contained 500 rounds of ammunition and several hand grenades, and wept. He returned to Japan on March 19, 1974, his 52nd birthday. He was welcomed as a hero in Japan, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos pardoned him and praised his courage. Hiroo wrote his memoir, “No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War,” and later lived in both Brazil and Japan. He died on January 16, 2014, at the age of 91.

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