After dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 1945 at Nagasaki on August 9 1945 the
war with Japan after almost six years of brutal fighting finally came to a conclusion on September
2nd 1945. Many things may be said about the best and most determined soldiers from World War
II especially among the Japanese. Their devotion to duty the emperor and strict military discipline
are legendary and some Japanese soldiers carried that devotion and dedication to extremes.
Why did Japanese soldiers like Hiroo Onoda and Teruo Nakamura resist and hold out
for so long? How did they manage to survive all that time isolated and without resupply?
What were their lives like after they finally emerged from the jungle decades later? Hello
i'm Colin Heaton former soldier Marine Corps scout sniper history professor historian and book author
and we'll answer these questions and other issues on this segment of Forgotten History.
Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda was born on March 19 1922 in Kainan Wakayama in Japan. Onoda joined the
Japanese Army in 1942 and was selected for specialized training at the Nagano School.
This was Japan's primary training center for military intelligence operations.
As a student Onoda studied infantry tactics guerrilla of warfare literature philosophy history martial
arts propaganda and covert operations. His training and practical application would be his greatest
allies for many years to come. In his autobiography "No Surrender:My 30-Year War" he detailed how when
American forces landed on Lubang Island a small strategic island 93 miles southwest of Manila Bay
he and his men went on operations. February 28 1945 saw his commanding officer Major Yoshimi Taniguchi
give Onoda and his three men their orders, "Stand and fight until relieved. It may take three years it
may take five, but whatever happens we will come back for you." Onoda saluted and acknowledged without
knowing that it would be 29 years before he was relieved of command. Onoda and the three
enlisted men melted into the jungles on Lubang I.sland where they engaged in guerrilla warfare
They continued attacking small units with hit and run tactics and gathering intelligence
against the locals whom they believed were working with the Americans. When Japan surrendered
in September 1945 Onoda when he learned of it like many other Japanese soldiers refused to
believe it. Leaflets were dropped in Japanese telling any stragglers that the war was over.
In an interview with ABC news many years ago Onoda explained why he did not believe it,
quote; "The leaflets they dropped were filled with mistakes so i judged that it was a plot by the
Americans," end quote. The four men surviving did so off bananas coconuts occasional wild game
and rice stolen from nearby villages. Onoda and his men continued to believe that they were at war,
sometimes engaging in short battles with local residents and soldiers.
Over time due to the long-running engagements long after the war was over some 30 or more islanders had
tragically been killed. One of the three enlisted men surrendered to Filipino forces in 1950.
One was killed in 1954 by police officers hunting the bandits down and another was also
shot and killed in 1972 also by island police officers searching for the renegades. The locals
knew that they had a Japanese soldier or more on the loose as the man who surrendered in 1950
gave the authorities all their information. The news even made it back to Japan. On February 20th
1974 a Japanese student named Norio Suzuki picked up on the story and went to Lubang Island in
search of Onoda. He lived in a tent in the jungle calling his name with a loudspeaker until Onoda
finally emerged from hiding. Previous excursions had Japanese officials with loudspeakers roaming
the jungle calling his name and telling him the same thing. Suzuki informed Onoda that all that
had transpired was amazing that the war had long been over and that his family was still
waiting for him, but Onoda said that while all of this may be true he could only be relieved by a
superior officer and he wanted proof. Following this contact Suzuki managed to contact the
government and Onoda's last commanding officer Major Taniguchi along with an official delegation
then all went to Lubang to convince Onoda that the war was in fact over and that he could turn
home to Japan with honor. Onoda recognizing the voice finally came out of hiding and met his C.O.
whom he had last seen almost 30 years earlier. On March 9 1974 Onoda still wearing his Imperial
Japanese uniform surrendered to Filipino authorities and surrendered his rifle
and sword. The people wanted him placed on trial for a variety of crimes including theft and murder
but in a gesture of understanding and reconciliation he was pardoned by President
Ferdinand Marcos. He would not be punished for any crimes committed by his men or himself while
still believing he was at war. When he was asked why he did this and what he thought about all
those years of living in the jungle believing the war was still raging, he simply said quote,
"nothing but accomplishing my duty." Then the 52 year old Onoda returned to a Japan that was totally
different, an entirely different world from the one he remembered. The new technology stunned him and the
culture had drastically changed. Although he was welcomed back home and heralded as a national hero
who upheld the finest traditions of the Bushido Code and the military Onoda found adjusting
difficult. He became world famous a living legend really and it was considered the epitome of
tradition and discipline. However in 1976 he moved to a predominantly Japanese colony in Sao Paulo
Brazil and bought a cattle ranch. While there he met and married Machie Onuku a Japanese tea
ceremony teacher. Onota later returned to Lubang and donated 10,000 U.S. dollars to build a school
his conciliatory measure. In 1984 the couple returned to Japan founding the Onoda Nature
School where he taught Japanese youth survival skills. They periodically moved back and forth
between Japan and Brazil due to the cattle business. Hiroo Onoda died of heart failure due
to complications from pneumonia at Saint Luke's International Hospital in 2014. He was 91 years old.
Following Hiroo Onoda Teruo Nakamira was indeed the last Japanese soldier to surrender. Born in 1919
on Formosa he was drafted while under Japanese occupation. However Nakamura unlike Onoda was
not Japanese but Taiwanese and a member of the Ami Tribe on what used to be Formosa. His real
name was Attun Palalin. The Japanese had changed his name for military service. He was assigned
to the Takasago Voluntary Unit of the Imperial Japanese Army in November of 1943 and stationed
on Moratai Island in the Japanese occupied Dutch East Indies. He arrived shortly before
the Allies invaded and recaptured the island in September of 1944 at the Battle of Moratai.
He was officially declared dead in March 1945. He survived on Morotai with the other survivors who
did not actively engage with the locals; they simply survived in isolation until the end of
1956 when Nakamura left and built his own camp which was not discovered until 1974. When asked
his reason for leaving the other soldiers Nakamura said that they tried to kill him.
However his statement was challenged and refuted by three of the other soldiers who
had been discovered in the 1950s. Soon all alone Nakamura lived for 30 years in the jungle and
became friends with a local man named Baicoli who brought him tea coffee food and other items.
Before bakali died he ensured that his son would continue helping Nakamura. However Baicoloi's son then
reported Nakamura's location to the Indonesian Air Force staff who was searching for him singing the
Japanese national anthem the Kimi Gai O while carrying the Japanese and Indonesian flags.
When found Nakamura was in his hut which was surrounded by wooden fences and stakes as security
and a garden that he had planted for food. Unlike Onoda who still thought he was fighting the war
and acted accordingly Nakamura did not fight the locals and just decided to hide out peacefully
until his fortunes changed still thinking the war was going on and he would be joined by others.
Nakamura was captured and dressed in an Indonesian Air Force uniform but he was not restrained.
He was taken off the island by boat and when the word spread that there was a Japanese soldier
living among them it shocked the locals. They had no idea. At Morotai Air Base Nakamura had
a complete physical and he was found to be in excellent condition despite being there
for 30 years. Nakamura was then handed over to the Japanese embassy upon arrival in Jakarta
Indonesia but because he was considered Taiwanese and not Japanese and Formosa no longer existed he
had no country of origin, although the Japanese embassy offered to repatriate him there was also
a diplomatic issue of some importance as to how to treat him should he wish to return to Taiwan.
In addition the official Japanese position was that since he was not Japanese he was not a
citizen. Despite having been a Japanese subject and drafted into their army he was unworthy
of receiving compensation. As a gesture they offered Teruo a small pension, some money which
provoked protests from the public. Remember that just a few months earlier Hiroo Onoda
had been returned and treated much better and the world press demanded that Nakamura be compensated
the same as Onoda and others. Eventually he received the same compensation that had led
to the demands from the public in Taiwan as well as in Japan because he had also fought for Japan.
Nakamura himself wanted to be sent back to Taiwan directly where he reunited with his wife and lived
peacefully until he died of lung cancer on June 15th 1979. To honor Teruo Nakamura although a former
enemy who had been hiding out there for 30 years the Murotai Island Regency government honored him
and established the Teruo Nakamura Monument in Deheglia Village North Maluku Province. Rest in peace.
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