Hiroo Onoda: The Soldier Who Kept Fighting WW2 Years After It Ended

Back in 1974, a Japanese college dropout called Norio Suzuki, heard a rumor. Apparently, on a lone island in the Philippines, far out in the dense jungle, was a Japanese soldier, a lieutenant no less, who’d been there since the end of World War 2, that’s almost 29 years at that point, refusing to surrender!

Initially Norio brushed that off as a hoax if he’d been missing for that long, he must have been declared dead! Plus, there was no way someone could survive out in the jungle for that long. However, he did some research, the lieutenant, by the name Hiroo Onoda, had been missing since the war ended in 1945 and declared dead in 1959. That was odd it was a suspiciously long time to wait to declare someone dead. So, he must have been seen alive at some point. And if he’d survived that long what was to say he wasn’t still there?

Inspired by that wild legend, he decided to take matters into his own hands, and embarked on a daring adventure to find the lost soldier and bring him home! But it wouldn’t be that easy not by a long shot. Let's investigate the story of a man who fought for nearly 29 years after World War 2 had ended.

Who Is Hiroo Onoda?

Hiroo was born in 1922 in the town of Kainan, in Japan’s Wakayama Prefecture. He grew up in a bustling family as the fifth of seven children, and later embarked on a career as a salesman for a Japanese company operating in China. But destiny had other plans for him, and everything changed on December 7th, 1941.

History buffs might recognize that date; it’s the day when the Japanese Imperial Forces attacked the United States Naval Base of Pearl Harbor! That was a world shattering event that altered the course of the 2nd World War. It was a catastrophic event that would lead to the US declaring war on Japan, embroiling the two countries in conflict. Following that, all able-bodied men aged 17 to 40 in Japan were drafted for the army.

In May 1942, Hiroo was called up for his army physical, passing it with flying colors. So, at the tender age of 20 years old, he was inducted into the 61st Infantry Regiment in Wakayama, before being assigned to the 218th Infantry Regiment. His first orders were to head to the war front in Nanchang, China.

But in December 1944, American forces landed in San Jose in the Philippines. The Japanese soldiers were immediately relocated to fight against them, with Hiroo’s regiment ordered to defend Lubang; a small, narrow island, barely 48 square miles in size, forming part of the Philippines archipelago.

Lubang Island Regiment

As the American invasion escalated, Hiroo received a battlefield promotion to a full fledged second lieutenant by January 10th, 1945. Then, he received a set of orders that would change his life forever: Major Takahashi said, “Apprentice Officer Onoda will proceed to Lubang Island, where he will lead the Lubang Garrison in guerilla warfare.”

It was a huge responsibility, one the Hiroo was keen to undertake. But then General Akira Muto, Chief of Staff of the 14th Area Army, delivered a haunting message that echoed in Hiroo’s ears: “You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, we will come back for you.”

As a newly appointed Lieutenant given direct orders from a General, those words were burned into Hiroo’s mind. He swore an oath to fight the war till the bitter end. But despite his conviction, he didn’t have the confidence of his fellow soldiers. Being such a young soldier in command, Hiroo still had a lot to prove.

On February 28th, a force of 50 American soldiers landed on Lubang island. A battalion of marines led by 4 tanks put boots down in the small town of Tilik, and in the battle that ensued, the town was completely wiped out, with the American forces immediately overwhelming the Japanese troops.

To protect his unit, Hiroo ordered a retreat into the mountains, changing their strategy to that of guerrilla warfare. Despite the name, that didn’t mean all the soldiers put on monkey suits. Rather a guerrilla campaign is a type of warfare where smaller groups of soldiers attack larger armies by relying on sabotage, surprise ambushes, and hit and run tactics.

Hiroo knew it wouldn’t be safe for all the soldiers to remain in the same place, as they’d be sitting ducks if they became surrounded by the Americans. And so, the soldiers splintered into three-man cells. It meant two soldiers could stand guard facing either direction, while the third soldier prepared meals and set up camp.

Hiroo’s three-man cell was joined by Corporal Shimada and Private Kozuka. They were later joined by Private Akatsu, a sickly young soldier, who’d been iced out from his cell. The men continued to carry out guerrilla warfare against the American forces over the summer of 1945.

Hidden in the dense, jungles thick mountains, those three-man cells were completely cut off from central military command, which is why they were unaware of the catastrophic events that unfolded on the 6th of August 1945. It was a day the world never forgot; the Americans dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

The bomb annihilated the city, completely destroying some 60,000 structures, and ending the lives of some 66,000 people. Three days later, the Americans dropped the second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, razing it to the ground, and wiping a further 69,000 people off the face of the earth. Following that apocalyptic demonstration of power, Japan admitted defeat.

The official surrender of Japan was announced by Emperor Hirohito on the 15th of August and formally signed on 2nd September 1945, bringing the horrendous war to a close. Orders were delivered through central command, passing on that Japan had surrendered, and all soldiers were to stand down.

Though it took longer for the news to reach further areas of the war front such as the Philippines; There weren’t Phones or Internet access back in those days, just telegrams, letters, and word of mouth. With that in mind, it was the middle of October when news of surrender finally reached Lubang.

The Man Who Hid In The Jungle For 30 Years

A squad of Japanese soldiers had encountered a group of local islanders who’d immediately fled in terror, but one of them left behind a piece of paper. Printed on it in Japanese was a statement that read “The war ended on August 15th. Come down from the mountains.”

The soldiers dismissed it as a ruse from the islanders to force them to evacuate the island. Meanwhile, they still heard distant gunshots, and remained steadfast in their belief that the Americans were attempting to lure them out!

As the year drew to a close, a Boeing B-17 flew over their hideout, dropping a bundle of papers. Those were prints of the official surrender order from General Yamashita of the Fourteenth Area Army. But the soldiers scrutinized every detail, filled with skepticism. The leaflet said that any soldiers who surrendered would be rewarded with “hygienic succour” and “hauled” to Japan.

Now, succour, which means to give assistance or aid to was a word typically used at that time when liberating prisoners of war. To the active soldiers, that seemed incredibly suspicious. But what troubled Hiroo the most was the mention of a “Direct Imperial Order” in General Yamashita’s command. He had never heard of such an order, and the grammar of the text suggested that the general was issuing the order to himself.

Something didn’t add up. With doubt clouding their minds, the soldiers concluded that the leaflets were clever forgeries by the Americans! It would later transpire that the pamphlet’s error was a simple printing mistake, but it was too late! The soldiers remained vigilant and unwavering in their fight for Japan.

As their guerrilla campaign dragged on, supplies began to dwindle, and the men were starting to get hungry. All groups had begun with a three month supply of rice, which Hiroo’s cell had carefully rationed to last as long as possible. But by March, the other soldiers had run out.

They came to Hiroo’s camp and begged for rice, but the tough Lieutenant refused. He gave them all the same answer, “You men made pigs of yourselves when you had rice, so now you don’t have any. If we give you rice, we’ll all be in trouble. You don’t know how to conserve.”

With all that constant clambering through the jungle, you can imagine how hungry the soldiers were. As more leaflets urging surrender rained down from above, the hungry and homesick soldiers found themselves teetering on the edge. Finally, in April 1946, 41 of the three-man cells gave in and surrendered. Hiroo’s 4-man cell, however, stood their ground and refused to give up on Japan.

As the days and weeks wore on, the Japanese troops who had surrendered began leaving notes out that read, “Nobody is searching for you now but the Japanese. Come on out!” But those four soldiers still refused to accept the war had really ended and more importantly, that Japan had lost!

Instead, they chose to believe the surrendered Japanese soldiers were actually captured prisoners of war, and that the Americans were forcing them to lure out Hiroo’s cell! With that in mind, every time the searchers called out for Hiroo’s team, the cell quickly relocated.

Still, the leaflets left a deep impression on Private Akatsu, who at just 22 years old was the youngest member of the cell. One evening after they had finished their meal, he raised the all-important question, what if the war really had ended?

All eyes turned towards the Lieutenant. Rising to the occasion, Hiroo made a bold statement; “If that’s what you all truly think, I’ll go and check!”, he said. But then, Private Kozuka suddenly intervened. He reminded them of the strange pamphlet they had received, referencing the “Direct Imperial Order.”

He convinced them that the other soldiers had fallen into the Americans’ trap, taken prisoner by believing in that forged letter. That was enough to sway their view, and they refused to bear the responsibility for those other soldiers who they believed had been captured. The four of them vowed to keep on fighting.

It was now mid-April in 1946, and little did they know, but those four men were the last remnants of Japanese resistance in the Philippines. After the main bulk of the Japanese contingent had surrendered, the islanders on Lubang began to feel more at ease venturing into the mountains to cut timber. Meanwhile, whenever Hiroo’s squad, which was always on high alert heard them coming, they’d hide in the bushes like ninjas!

They considered the islanders enemies, because when the American forces had initially landed, the Filipinos swiftly sided with them, turning against the occupying Japanese force. Those islanders had acted as guides for the enemy, so now the cell avoided them at all costs.

But luck wasn’t always on their side, and sometimes they were spotted! When that happened, there was only one option left: shoot at the islanders to scare them off! It was all they could think to do to protect their secret hideout from being discovered by the people they thought were the enemy. The soldiers were living in their own version of reality!

You have to feel bad for the islanders, who had to constantly deal with the aggressive tactics of Hiroo’s squad. But being shot at was just the start of the problems; they also had their food stolen too! When the islanders went up into the mountains to work, they often brought along bags of uncooked rice.

They’d hang the sacks from trees and leave them behind after finishing work to use the next day. But little did they know, there were very hungry soldiers hiding in the jungle. Hiroo’s squad would steal the rice like bandits in the night, but those meagre portions of rice alone weren’t enough to sustain them.

Fortunately, Lubang had an abundance of flora and fauna the soldiers could hunt and scavenge. The tropical climate meant that one fruit was found, quite literally, by the bunch, that is bananas! Lubang was also a wildlife paradise, with wild water buffaloes, wild boars, wild chickens, and even iguanas that could grow up to a whopping 3 feet in length!

Lizard meat doesn’t exactly sound appetizing and hunting wild animals with what precious little ammunition they had seemed like a huge waste, which is exactly why the soldiers focused their attention instead on the cows the islanders raised for meat! They justified that hunting as taking resources from the enemy. It was bad news for the islanders and the cows, but from that bare sustenance, the soldiers continued the struggle for survival.

To truly grasp the unique situation those holdout soldiers found themselves in, we need to understand the lay of the land on Lubang. The population of the entire island was only 12,000, mostly consisting of farmers that resided in the north of the island. So, Hiroo’s cell focused their movements around the less populated and jungle covered mountains in the south. They developed a circuit, a rough ellipse moving counterclockwise through the region.

They wouldn’t stay at a camp location for more than 3 to 5 days, as they were riddled with paranoia, convinced the enemy troops could appear at any moment. Living in such a remote area, isolated from the outside world, and strictly following their routine, the soldiers slowly brainwashed themselves into the belief that the war was still raging on. Though one soldier remained skeptical.

Private Akatsu was never as convinced as the others that Japan was still at war. 3 times he abandoned the group, and disappeared into the jungle, only to be brought back by Corporal Shimada. But then, one day in September 1949, 4 years and 210 days since the war had ended Private Akatsu vanished.

The other soldiers feared the worst; that he had been captured by American troops! But they were in for a serious surprise. In 1950, more than six months later, they stumbled upon a leaflet that revealed the shocking truth.

Private Akatsu had surrendered to the Filipino troops in March after spending 6 months on his own, at a location on the other side of the island. A note was attached with Private Akatsu’s handwriting, saying that when he eventually decided to surrender, the Filipino troops greeted him as a friend rather than an enemy.

Surely, that was enough evidence to convince them the war was over? But as they were pondering the Private’s surrender, they spotted a mysterious aircraft circling above them. Assuming that must all be part of an enemy trap, they quickly moved on.

So, instead of casting doubt, Private Akatsu’s departure sent the group’s paranoia levels through the roof! They started seeing all islanders as spies in disguise. At that point, you might assume that the Japanese authorities had given up trying to search for them, but their efforts continued! In February 1952, 7 years after the war had ended, another airplane dropped leaflets into the jungle, and among them was a letter from Hiroo’s oldest brother, Toshio.

The letter stated that the war had ended, and that his brothers were all out of the army. There were also letters from Private Kozuka’s and Corporal Shimada’s families, together with photographs. Compelling evidence, right?

No, the soldiers dismissed them as another enemy hoax! They believed the photos were fabricated as a clever trap by the Americans. How?! Well, Corporal Shimada’s family was stood in front of a house he didn’t recognize, indicating the photos were fake!

Little did the men know, though, that Tokyo had been extensively firebombed during the war and most of the city had needed to be rebuilt. So, they still refused to believe Japan had lost, and instead, they let their imaginations run wild with theories on how the Americans forged the photographs!

That would have been a lot harder over 70 years ago, because photoshop didn’t even exist! Ironically, the various leaflets and messages sent to them saying that the war was over, only served to further entrench their conspiracies.

Living in the humid jungle for so long though, their uniforms were now beginning to rot. To patch the holes, they used thread from fibres of a hemp like plant that grows in the forest and cut pieces of canvas off their tents for patches. Luckily, there was no malaria on Lubang and, being isolated from the main population of the island, they rarely got sick.

They kept track of the calendar by memory and counting rations. They took care of their military issued swords and guns by polishing them with palm oil to keep them from rusting. But gradually the gun butts and slings absorbed so much palm oil that the giant jungle rats would sniff them out and gnaw at them!

They also stole materials from the islanders, including clothes. They raided the islanders’ houses for coffee and canned goods. Unsurprisingly, the islanders became increasingly hostile towards the soldiers and tried various methods to flush them out.

Some of the wackier ideas included leaving dirty cartoons or nude photos of women in the mountains, to entice them to reveal their location. But rampant paranoia overwhelmed any desires they had by that point, and the soldiers steered clear.

Eventually, sick of being taken advantage of, the islanders began fighting back. In June 1953, Corporal Shimada was wounded badly in the leg, after being shot at by a local fisherman.

Then in a heartbreaking turn of events just a year later, Corporal Shimada was accidentally shot and killed by a Philippine Army Mountain unit during their training. While accidental, the cell saw it as the enemy closing in, fueling them further into their wartime delusion.

Just ten days after Corporal Shimada’s untimely demise, a Philippine Air Force plane made several passes over their location. It dropped more leaflets, and a loudspeaker blared out: “Onoda, Kozuka, the war has ended!” You’d think that would be the moment of truth, the revelation that would get the message through.

But no! Enraged over Corporal Shimada’s death, it only hardened their desire for revenge! They saw it as yet another cunning ploy by the Americans to lure them out of hiding. At that point no one can be sure if those men were staunchly patriotic or straight up crazy!? Either way, spending nearly a decade in the jungle will do that to anyone.

But they weren’t the only ones being impossibly stubborn, as the Japanese government true to General Muto’s words refused to give up on them. In 1959, the now 2 man cell found themselves faced with yet another attempt to lure them out, but this time, it was in the form of a large search party.

Loudspeakers were set up, with the party saying “Lieutenant Onoda! Private First Class Kozuka! The war has ended.” They also played the Japanese national anthem and a lot of old Japanese folk songs the two recognized. The search party went around the whole island.

Every time they came near them however, the two trekked back further into the jungle, still convinced that was a trick. The search party stayed for an unbelievable 6 months, from May until late November. That’s some serious commitment! But no matter what the search party did, the two remained hidden.

On the last day of the search, however, something extraordinary happened. Hiroo heard a voice over the loudspeaker saying, “Hiroo, come out. This is your brother, Toshio.” And, immediately, he recognized the voice! It was his brother’s.

Now you’d think that was the moment he’d finally come out of hiding. He knows his brother. He trusts his brother. There’s no voice changing technology available yet, so that had to be him. There could be no doubt in Hiroo’s mind, right?

Unbelievably, Hiroo convinced himself that that was just a prisoner sent to imitate his brother perfectly. Talk about hearing what you want to believe!

But that’s not all. As they wrapped up the search, the party left behind something that could have shattered their beliefs once and for all, Japanese newspapers. It was the first real, up to date news the cell had seen in some 15 years!

But instead of accepting the truth, their paranoia reigned supreme. The enemy had obviously infiltrated those newspapers, doctoring articles to deceive them because none of the articles contained reference to the East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere!

You’ve probably never heard of it, but it was an idea cooked up by the Empire of Japan, in which Japan would essentially be the central power in Asia with all other countries surrounding it as vassal states. Unsurprisingly, that was an idea hated by every other country in Asia, and when Japan lost World War II, they were forced to abandon it.

But to Hiroo and Private Kozuka, again, the idea of Japan losing the war was impossible, so the Sphere must exist. They believed that if Japan had truly lost, there would be no news delivered, because the entire population would have to have been wiped out! It’s a morbid thought, but it gives us a glimpse into the extreme indoctrination those soldiers experienced through wartime propaganda.

For some context, When Hiroo arrived in the Philippines in 1944, Japan was already losing the war, but in the homeland, the propaganda slogans being repeated were “one hundred million souls dying for honor”. So, it was established that the entire population of Japan would rather perish before surrendering.

Hiroo took that literally, and sincerely believed that Japan would not surrender so long as even one Japanese person remained alive. Both Hiroo and Private Kozuka believed it was their duty to hold out until the East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere rescued them.

The fact that none of the Japanese newspapers even mentioned it convinced the two men that those were deliberately faked by the Americans! A classic conspiracy loophole of circular thought. It’s astounding to think that even in the face of overwhelming evidence, they clung to their beliefs so rigidly. What Hiroo had done was effectively create a mental prison that kept him trapped in that delusional world.

As Hiroo and Private Kozuka held on to their conspiracies, they continued their guerrilla tactics. They conducted what they called “fire raids,” setting ablaze piles of rice harvested by the islanders. They saw those fires as beacons, signaling their presence and dedication to their duties as the “Onoda Squadron”.

It was all in the hopes of clearing the way for the Japanese landing party they believed would soon arrive. However, their actions did not go unnoticed. The islanders, who had turned from tolerating them to hating them by that point, reported those raids to the local police, labelling them as “mountain devils”, fueling the tension between them.

Following the war, living conditions gradually began to improve on the island, and the soldiers observed as many of the villages were lit up with electric lights! And then, in late 1965, something remarkable happened. They managed to steal a transistor radio!

Finally, they had a way to hear news straight from the horse’s mouth: news on how the war was advancing, how much land Japan had claimed, and how close they were to winning! But what they heard instead was news on foreign relations with America, that space flight was being tested, that the Philippines had a new president.

There was no news of the war at all?! It was as if it wasn’t even going on. By then surely, that was the last straw? That must have been what got them to see the light? But no. They dismissed any news as American propaganda. They continued resisting.

Sadly, that would come at another grave cost, when tensions between the islanders and soldiers escalated to a boiling point on October 19th, 1972. As the pair were once again burning the islanders’ rice, the local Philippine police force were called, shots were fired and, in the chaos, Private Kozuka was killed.

It was a devastating blow that left Hiroo all alone, surrounded by the consequences of his misguided actions. Nevertheless, he continued his one man patrol around the island, disguised in camouflage, unable to break out of his strict military routine.

Just three days after Private Kozuka’s death, another search party was dispatched. Once again, the search party left newspapers behind, hoping to catch Hiroo’s attention, but mistakes in the reporting cast doubt in his mind.

Though they’d reported Private Kozuka’s death, none of the articles mentioned Private Kozuka’s cherished “thousand stitch waistband”, a special cloth where family and friends sewed stitches for good luck. To leave out such an important detail to Hiroo, led him to believe that the newspapers had been tampered with, fueling his suspicion of a larger conspiracy at play.

With his unwavering belief in the righteousness of Japan’s cause, Hiroo clung to the notion that the Philippines would switch sides from America to Japan. He convinced himself that staying on Lubang Island, fighting for Japan with his sword in hand, would serve the greater good for his country. And so, he continued hiding in the jungle, waiting for an imaginary secret agent to contact him.

But his family never gave up searching for him. In the following 6 months, 3 Japanese search parties attempted to persuade Hiroo to surrender. But still concealed in camouflage, they were unable to ever spot Hiroo hiding in the dense jungle.

Then, one day, something changed. While Hiroo believed his family was being forced to do that by the Americans in some sort of twisted power play, he couldn’t bear to not at least make contact with them. In a moment of weakness, he wrote out a thank you note for some gifts they’d left, leaving it behind in the same spot. That at least established that he was alive and cemented him as a legend in Japan.

It was at that point that Hiroo’s story captivated the interest of Norio Suzuki; the college dropout who in 1974 travelled all the way to the Philippines on a whim to find the long lost Lieutenant. And, by some stroke of feat, he achieved what the rescue parties had been trying to do for almost 29 years in just 4 days. Norio had set up camp in the jungle all on his own, when all of a sudden, Hiroo just walked up to him.

He immediately recognized that Norio wasn’t an islander because he was wearing thick woolen socks with rubber sandals, something the islanders never did. Norio also spoke in a polite Japanese dialect, which is perhaps what convinced Hiroo to stay and talk with Norio for over 2 hours. After being totally alone for several months, he seemed desperate for company.

Norio carefully and gently broke the news to Hiroo that Japan had in fact lost the war and had been at peace for years. Only then, looking into the eyes of another man, did it slowly dawn on Hiroo that everything he had dismissed for years as enemy propaganda was actually the truth. That meant that he had been fighting for over 10,000 days on the island for nothing.

Still unable to fully comprehend what he was hearing, when Norio asked what it would take for Hiroo to finally leave the jungle. He replied, a direct order from his superior officer, to stand down. The old Major had long since retired from the army and was now a bookdealer living in Miyazaki Prefecture, but Norio promised Hiroo he would bring the retired Major to the Philippines.

Surrendering After 29 Years

To prove that he had indeed found Hiroo, they took several photos together, side by side. And as promised, 2 weeks later, the long awaited reunion happened. The Major greeted Hiroo and read out his final order, “The Fourteenth Area Army has ceased all combat activity.” And just like that, after fighting for more than 29 years, Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda’s war was finally over.

He was reunited with his oldest brother, Toshio, before being escorted to Manila, where President Marcos addressed Hiroo for the serious crimes he’d unwittingly committed during the time he believed he was still in combat. Technically, all his actions were acts of terrorism, but the President generously pardoned him!

He was warmly welcomed as a war hero when he returned to Japan, which may seem strange considering how long he spent in his crazy conspiracy delusion! But in Japanese culture, there’s a deep admiration for heroes who remain loyal to a cause, especially when it seems lost or hopeless.

And so, Lieutenant Onoda was celebrated like one of those ancient heroes, a modern day samurai, of sorts. His homecoming was nothing short of spectacular: roaring crowds, celebratory parades, and speeches by public officials, it was a true hero’s welcome! Japan could finally celebrate something from the war after their devastating losses, as their lost soldier finally returned.

But now, Hiroo found himself in a strange and unfamiliar land. Japan had been dramatically modernized over the 30 years he’d been missing, and while he tried to return to a normal life, things just weren’t the same. So, he embarked on a whole new adventure!

In 1975, Hiroo packed his bags and moved to a Japanese colony in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to assist his brother who owned a farm there. Who would have thought this once super stubborn soldier would become a cattle rancher of all things? This story is full of bizarre twists!

Later in 1984, Hiroo found love and tied the knot with Machie Onuku, a Japanese tea-ceremony teacher. Together, the pair returned to Japan and founded the Onoda Nature School, a camp where kids learned survival skills.

Then in 1996, Hiroo made a pilgrimage back to Lubang and, as a gesture of appreciation, donated $10,000 to a local school there. And finally, on January 16, 2014, after a life filled with adventure, Hiroo Onoda passed away at the remarkable age of 91.

I hope you were amazed at the fascinating story of Hiroo Onoda, the soldier who took 29 years to surrender and continued fighting WW2 after it ended! Thanks for reading.