Japan WW2 Soldier Who Refused to Surrender Dies
A Japanese soldier who refused to surrender after World War Two ended and spent 29 years in the jungle has died aged 91 in Tokyo. Hiroo Onoda remained in the jungle on Lubang Island near Luzon, in the Philippines, until 1974 because he did not believe that the war had ended. He was finally persuaded to emerge after his ageing former commanding officer was flown in to see him. Onoda was greeted as a hero on his return to Japan.
The young soldier had orders not to surrender - a command he obeyed for nearly three decades. “I became an officer and I received an order. If I could not carry it out, I would feel shame. I am very competitive”, he said. Three other soldiers were with him at the end of the war. One emerged from the jungle in 1950 and the other two died.
Mr Onoda ignored several attempts to get him to surrender. He later said that he dismissed search parties sent to him, and leaflets dropped by Japan, because there was always something suspicious, so he never believed that the war had really ended. Though Onoda had been officially declared dead in December 1959, search parties were sent out in 1972, when the last person from his group was killed by local police, but they did not find him. Onoda was now alone.
On February 20, 1974, a Japanese man, Norio Suzuki, found Onoda after four days of searching. They became friends, but Onoda still refused to surrender, saying that he was waiting for orders from a superior officer. Suzuki returned to Japan with photographs of himself and Onoda as proof of their encounter, and the Japanese government located Onoda’s commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi. He flew to Lubang where on March 9, 1974, he finally met with Onoda and rescinded his original orders in person.
The Philippine government granted him a pardon, although many in Lubang never forgave him for killing 30 people during his campaign on the island. The news media reported on this and other misgivings, but at the same time welcomed his return home.
Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25772192 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HirooOnoda
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