Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese citizen, was trained as an Imperial Army intelligence officer during World War II. In 1944, he was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines with orders to conduct guerrilla warfare and gather intelligence. When the war ended in 1945, Onoda did not believe the news, thinking it was Allied propaganda, and continued fighting for 29 years. He and his comrades survived on coconuts, bananas, and other jungle food, and occasionally raided local farms. Over time, his group dwindled, and he was eventually left alone. In 1974, a Japanese college student, Norio Suzuki, found Onoda and convinced his former commanding officer, Major Taniguchi, to visit him and inform him that the war was over. Onoda finally surrendered in 1975, at the age of 52, and was pardoned by the Philippine President. He returned to Japan but was unhappy with the changes in the country and eventually moved to Brazil. However, he returned to Japan in 1984 and established a nature school to teach young people survival techniques and values. Onoda lived to the age of 91, passing away in 2014.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. A Japanese citizen named Hiroo Onoda was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines on December 26, 1944, to conduct guerrilla warfare.
2. Onoda was given orders by his commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, to not die by his own hands and to continue fighting until he was relieved.
3. Onoda linked up with other Japanese soldiers on the island, but after the island was overrun by enemy troops, they split into small groups and went into hiding.
4. Onoda and a few other soldiers continued to fight and gather intelligence for 29 years, believing the war was still ongoing.
5. In 1949, one of the soldiers, Yuichi Akatsu, surrendered, but Onoda and the remaining soldiers continued to fight.
6. In 1959, another soldier, Shoichi Shimada, was killed in a skirmish.
7. Onoda and the last remaining soldier, Kozuka, continued to fight until Kozuka was killed in 1972.
8. In 1974, a Japanese student named Norio Suzuki found Onoda and tried to convince him to surrender, but Onoda refused.
9. Suzuki returned to Japan and informed the authorities about Onoda's whereabouts, and a search party was sent to find him.
10. In 1974, Onoda's commanding officer, Major Taniguchi, was brought back to the island to inform Onoda that the war was over and to order him to surrender.
11. Onoda surrendered on March 10, 1975, and was pardoned by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.
12. Onoda returned to Japan but was unhappy with the cultural changes he saw and eventually moved to Brazil.
13. Onoda later returned to Japan and established a nature school for young people, where he taught survival techniques and promoted Japanese values.
14. Hiroo Onoda died on January 16, 2014, at the age of 91.