Hiroo Onoda — The Soldier Who Fought Until 1974

Japanese intelligence officer Hiroo Onoda was deployed to Lubang Island in the Philippines in December 1944 with explicit orders never to surrender or take his own life. After Japan surrendered in August 1945, he and three comrades hid in the mountains, attacking local villagers and Filipino police patrols for nearly 30 years. Leaflets, newspapers, and letters from family dropped from planes telling them the war was over were all dismissed as Allied propaganda. One by one, his companions were killed or surrendered. Onoda's last companion was killed in 1972 during a firefight with local police. In 1974, a 24-year-old Japanese adventurer named Norio Suzuki found Onoda in the jungle and promised to return with Onoda's original commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who could formally relieve him of duty. Taniguchi flew to the island and read the orders that released Onoda. Only then did Onoda surrender — still in uniform, still armed with a functioning Arisaka rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, and several grenades — on March 10, 1974, nearly 30 years after the war ended.