Persistance

If you read my post last week, you read of a soldier who chose not to surrender when the enemy invaded his island base during World War II.  Instead he and a few other men took to the surrounding jungle.  The other men were gradually captured or killed, leaving him the only man on an island under enemy control.

Well, this week it’s the same story, only different…a LOT different.

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Onondo Hiroo was born March 19, 1922.  At the age of 18 he enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army Infantry.  He trained as an intelligence officer and was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines on December 26, 1944.

The U.S. and Philippine Commonwealth forces were engaged in trying to retake the Philippines.  Second lieutenant Onando’s commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi knew it was inevitable that the Philippines would fall, but he wanted to slow the Allies as much as possible.  Onando was given the primary mission to impede the retaking of the island, including the destruction of the airstrip and the harbor’s pier.

However, once he arrived, ranking Japanese officers on the island prevented him from accomplishing his initial goals.

Onondo’s secondary orders, in case the island fell, had been equally clear.  He was to hide, evade capture, and cause as much trouble to the invading army as possible, no matter how long it took.

Further, he was told, “You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand.  It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, we’ll come back for you.  Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him.  You may have to live on coconuts.  If that’s the case, live on coconuts!  Under no circumstances are you [to] give up your life voluntarily.”

The Allied forces landed on February 28, 1945 and the Japanese resistance fell almost immediately.  Surviving Japanese soldiers formed into small groups and took to the jungle.

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Most of the Japanese soldiers who had escaped into the hills were quickly captured or killed, leaving only Onoda and his three men, corporal Shōichi Shimada, private first class Kinshichi Kozuka, and private Yuichi Akatsu.  The group hid in the jungle, using guerrilla warfare tactics to harass Allied troops as best they could while using their military survival training to keep them alive.

They strictly rationed what supplies they had managed to escape with.  They had some food and ammunition, among a few other things.  They were able to scrounge bananas, coconuts, and some other edibles from the jungle.  In addition, they made raids on local farms when their reconnaissance and planning told them they had a high likelihood of success.

Despite their caution, there were a few times when they were almost captured and had to engage in shooting battles with the local police.

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One of Onoda’s three men, private Yuichi Akatsu, split from the group after they had been on the run for a while.  He eventually surrendered.

The remainder of the group saw his absence as a security issue.  They worried that he might give information that would lead to their capture.  The men became even more cautious, concerned that the authorities might try to trick them into giving up.

One day an aircraft flew over.  It was not uncommon, but this one dropped a packet containing family photos and letters from their families back in Japan.  The missives urged the men to surrender.

They concluded that it was a trick and ignored the entreaties.

Another day, during an attempt to steal fish they were seen and had a skirmish with the fishermen guarding their catch.  During an exchange of gunfire, Shimada took a bullet to the leg.  Despite the wounded man, the group worked together and managed to escape back into the forest. 

Onoda treated the wound and nursed Shimada back to health. 

Unfortunately for Shimada, search parties often looked for the group.  One met up with them again and, during the skirmish, Shimada was shot and killed.

During a later guerrilla foray, Kozuka and Onoda were burning rice that farmers had stored away.  Local police arrived before the men could make their escape and Kozuka was shot to death.

Onoda was now alone.

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Back home in Japan Onoda’s fame had reached mythical proportions.  His exploits made the newspapers and radio.  The lone Japanese soldier who refused to surrender was a hero in a country devastated by the war.

Norio Suzuki was a young Japanese adventurer.  He enjoyed traveling around the world, seeking excitement.  He had jokingly said that, before he quit, he wanted to find, “Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the Abominable Snowman, in that order”.

He travelled to the Phillippines and started wandering the jungles looking for evidence that would lead him to Onoda.

Perhaps the lieutenant was overwhelmed with loneliness after all of his men had gone, or maybe it was just the excitement of seeing a countryman.  Suzuki had been searching for only four days when he and Onoda met.

The two men struck up a conversation.  Suzuki told Onoda that the war was over and asked him to surrender.  Onoda refused, saying he had been ordered to stay and fight, and he would continue to do so until his commanding officer ordered him to stop.  He remembered Major Taniguchi’s assurance, “Whatever happens, we’ll come back for you”.

Onoda said he would wait until that promise was fulfilled.

Onoda allowed the younger man to take photos of him and Suzuki took them back to Japan where he located the retired Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who was now working as a bookseller.  The Major agreed to help.  The men returned to Lubang Island, along with a delegation which included Onoda’s brother, Toshiro. 

They were able to find and meet with the evasive Onoda.

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Major Taniguchi issued Onoda the following orders:

1. In accordance with the Imperial command, the Fourteenth Area Army has ceased all combat activity.
2. In accordance with military Headquarters Command No. A-2003, the Special Squadron of Staff’s Headquarters is relieved of all military duties.
3. Units and individuals under the command of Special Squadron are to cease military activities and operations immediately and place themselves under the command of the nearest superior officer. When no officer can be found, they are to communicate with the American or Philippine forces and follow their directives.

Onoda had gotten what he had been waiting for.  He had been properly relieved of duty. 

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Despite being fully prepared to continue fighting, he surrendered. He turned over his sword, a functioning Arisaka Type 99 rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition and several hand grenades, as well as the dagger his mother had given him in 1944 to kill himself with if he was captured.

Yeah, he was ready and willing to continue the resistance.

The date was March 9, 1974.  Onoda had been carrying on orders issued to him 29 years before.

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You can imagine how perplexed Onoda was.  In his own words, “We really lost the war!  How could they have been so sloppy?

“Suddenly everything went black.  A storm raged inside me.  I felt like a fool for having been so tense and cautious on the way here.  Worse than that, what had I been doing for all these years?

“Gradually the storm subsided, and for the first time I really understood: my thirty years as a guerrilla fighter for the Japanese army were abruptly finished.  This was the end.

“I pulled back the bolt on my rifle and unloaded the bullets…

“I eased off the pack that I always carried with me and laid the gun on top of it.  Would I really have no more use for this rifle that I had polished and cared for like a baby all these years?  Or Kozuka’s rifle, which I had hidden in a crevice in the rocks?  Had the war really ended thirty years ago?  If it had, what had Shimada and Kozuka died for?  If what was happening was true, wouldn’t it have been better if I had died with them?”

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Phillippine President Ferdinand Marcos granted Onoda a full pardon for all his transgressions (including 30 people his group had killed) since the man had committed them while he thought he was at war and was just following his commander’s orders.

The famous guerilla fighter returned to his homeland.

Onoda was quite popular when he reached Japan.  Many people asked him to run for elected office.

Not comfortable with the changes in Japanese culture that had taken place in the thirty years since he left, Onoda moved to Brazil in 1975 and started a cattle ranch.

He met and married Machie Onuku, a Japanese tea-ceremony teacher, in 1976.

He eventually moved back to Japan, where he started a school teaching survival and self-reliance to Japanese youth.  He also used the school to try to resurrect some of the lost teachings of his youth, like honor and respect for tradition.

Despite his years of deprivation and hunger, Onoda was surprisingly healthy after 29 years of living in poor conditions.  He lived another forty years after his return, and passed away on January 16, 2014 at the age of 91.

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