I recently finished reading “No Surrender” by Hiroo Onoda.He is remembered as the Japanese soldier who continued to carry out his orders of sabotage on the island of Lubang.He eventually came out of hiding in 1974 but only after being ordered to do so by his commanding officer from WW2.
The book is a great read,it gives an insight into the Japanese mentallity during WW2.Orders were always followed.Onoda had three others with him but as a Second Lieutenant he was the commanding officer.Onoda gives a detailed account of life in the Jungle,day to day survival and the gathering of food.Onoda starts off the book with a poingnant insight into his childhood and the carefree life he led up until he joined the army.
It is sad to read when one by one his men die or in one case left the group.It is interesting to note that despite many attempts by Onodas family and various other people to tell Onoda that the war was indeed over,Onoda stayed through to his orders.It was a life of danger,at first being hunted by American troops and later by Phillipino police and army.Finally being discovered by the Japanese student Norio Suzuki who arranged for Onoda commanding officer from WW2 Major Taniguchi to meet with Onoda and issue the order to surrender.
Hiroo Onoda was through so much,not only believing that WW2 was still on but look at all the years of his life lost.My son recently made the statement that Onoda never new who JFK was or even that man had landed on the moon.I would highly recommend this book.
read it many years ago. excellent book. he was always suspsicious that the storys of the end of the war were a clever american trick to make him surrender!
This is an astonishing story; at least what I’ve read on Wikipedia!!
I can remember my dad telling me about the Japanese holdouts and I thought it was a myth until pretty recently.
I can’t imagine such dedication, I’d be dying to get back to my home and my other half…guess I’d make a rubbish soldier!!
I think I might check online for a copy of this.
Kind regards,