Hiroo Onoda (center) surrendered to his boss in 1974. Photo / AFP
Hiroo Onoda He joined the Imperial Japanese Army infantry at the age of 18, and at the time he never imagined he would become a myth after World War II.
His story is about a soldier who spent decades He fought the end of the war, but he was unaware of the geopolitical changes. They didn’t notify him on time.
The context of the war continued for Onoda, who continued to live as if his enemies were stalking every day. He was always ready to fight in the jungle of the Philippines.
Hiroo Onoda. He spent decades in the Philippines believing that he was following World War II. Photo / AP
Hiroo Onoda’s extraordinary life
Born in 1922 Hiroo Onoda He was soon selected for special intelligence training. He studied guerrilla warfare, philosophy, history, martial arts, propaganda, and covert operations...
1944, Already an officer, he was sent to Lubang Island, 150 km southwest of Manila, Philippines, during the last few months of World War II.
Onoda’s order was clear: blocking the enemy’s attack on the island, Including runway destruction, and Never give up or rob your life..
“I became an officer and received an order. I feel embarrassed if I can’t do that.I am very competitive“, Mr. Onoda said in an interview published in 2010, decades later.
The order was Onoda’s engine.. He engaged in guerrilla warfare, and when Japan surrendered in 1945, he thought it was a lie from the enemy.So he stayed alive with the same rules: Never give up.
To inform soldiers like Onoda, who were hiding in the jungle of the Philippines, that they can go home now. Japan dropped a leaflet from the air. But Onoda still didn’t believe the news.
“”The flyers they released were full of mistakes, so I decided it was a US plot.Onoda, who was convinced that there was a leaflet, explained Allied propagandaThe purpose is to catch Japanese soldiers.
Battle with Hiroo Onoda
Surrender. Hiroo Onoda surrendered his sword in the Philippines in 1974. Photo / AP
With the other three soldiers Onoda continued to fight in the guerrilla war.. They survived with bananas and coconuts and stole rice from local farmers. Over the years, they have killed 30 islanders and successfully avoided several police shootouts.
In 1950, Yuichi Akatsu, one of the other rebel soldiers he was with, surrendered to the Filipino army... Onoda became even more cautious, believing that this could pose even greater danger to him.
Another soldier, Shoichi Shimada, was shot dead by an island police officer in 1954... Then his last ally, Senior Soldier Kinshichi Kozuka, was also shot by local police in 1972.
Each incident further solidified Onoda’s belief that the war was going on. And it became more dangerous.
Onoda stayed in the jungle for 29 years, mainly living in underground caves... As his work required him, he devoted himself to gathering information about the movement of the enemy. And for the past 24 months he was alone.
Onoda Asceticism, unbreakable will, obedience, loyalty and sacrifice.. However, the skills he learned in his first training turned out to be essential to his survival.
“”All Japanese officers are ready to die, but as intelligence officers I have run a guerrilla warfare and have been ordered not to die.“, He later explained to the media in his country.
Japanese soldiers with US military detainees during World War II. Photo / AP
Hiroo Onoda: Soldier who refused to die
Onoda was officially declared dead in 1959However, Japanese student Norio Suzuki refused to believe it. Almost thirty years after the end of World War II, in 1974 he began looking for missing soldiers...
Unbelievably, He was able to find Onoda in just four days after starting the search.
The two soon became friends, Onoda told Suzuki that he would only withdraw after receiving an official order... Suzuki returned to Japan with a photo proving their meeting and found Major Onoda’s still-surviving commander, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi.
Next spring, Suzuki returned to Taniguchi, and after Taniguchi officially exempted Onoda from his duties, Onoda, who shed tears, surrendered...
Onoda had a sword, a Type 99 rifle, 500 ammunition, and a grenade. And the dagger that his mother gave him in 1944 to commit suicide if he was captured.
“”It may take 3 years or 5 years, but whatever happens, we will be back for you.Commander Yoshimi Taniguchi had promised young Hiroo Onoda early in his service, but as he said, Taniguchi was back for him.
Hiroo Onoda returns to Japan in 1974
Hiroo Onoda. He died at the age of 91 and lived between Brazil and Japan for his last few years. Photo / AP
When Onoda returned to Japan in 1974, at the age of 52, he was still wearing an old imperial uniform... He was pardoned by the then President of the Philippines for the crimes committed when he believed he was still at war.
His family, who believed he was dead, met him for the first time since he was 22 years old. It was a shock.
Japan is modernized and unrecognizable, Onoda had a hard time adjusting.. A year after returning to Japan, he moved to a Japanese colony in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to lead a more peaceful life. There he even met a married Japanese woman.
Until his death in 2014, the couple lived between two countries. When asked, in 1974, Onoda briefly said what had happened to his mind during the 29 years in the jungle.“.
Source: Clarin
