In October 1972, police near the philippine island of Lubang received a report that two Japanese soldiers appeared on the hill and that they were still burning fires on the hillside for warmth. After hearing this, these policemen did not dare to be idle, and immediately rushed to the scene to start a search, and it turned out that they really found two Japanese people in military uniforms. As soon as the two sides met, they fired fiercely, one of the soldiers was killed on the spot, and the other was plunged into the deep mountains and old forests. But what made these policemen very strange was that the weapons they captured were the three-eight-large cover that was most commonly used by Japanese soldiers during World War II. What's going on? Could it be that a crossing accident occurred? This also starts with a man named Hiroshi Onoda.
In December 1942, 20-year-old Onoda was recruited into the army. After 2 years of training, he followed his troops to The Island of Lubang in the Philippines, preparing for guerrilla warfare with the American troops who landed later. On December 17, 1944, Commander Yoshimi Taniguchi issued a death order to Onoda Hiroro before leading his troops to retreat, asking him to stay on the island to fight the Americans and not to cut himself off or surrender. He also said that this order could not be lifted by anyone, and that the troops would certainly carry out a counter-offensive after the rest was completed.
At the end of February 1945, the U.S. army officially launched a landing operation on Lubang Island, and most of the soldiers did not escape the fate of death in the subsequent battles. Onoda, who was lucky enough to survive, divided the remaining people into various groups, and led the three of them into the mountain forest. On August 15, Japan officially announced its unconditional surrender, after which the U.S. military dropped a large number of leaflets on the islands and sent Japanese soldiers who had previously surrendered to persuade them to surrender. When Onoda first saw these leaflets, his heart had already been shaken. But at this time, there were a few faint gunshots in the distance, and he decided that the war was not over, that it was all a conspiracy of American soldiers, and he returned to the dense mountains.
Onoda led three soldiers and conducted guerrilla warfare on the island. They not only targeted U.S. military bases, but also often attacked civilians for supplies. Because Onoda's actions are complex and changeable, even the locals can't do anything about them. He also makes his own signal receivers and then judges the situation based on the various information he collects. Although it often rains heavily on Lubang Island, the 4 soldiers have carefully protected their rifles and miraculously survived in the jungle. In 1950, one of Onoda's soldiers, Yuichi Akatsu, could no longer bear such a torturous life, so he secretly ran down the mountain and surrendered to the police. Upon learning of this, Onoda hated this betrayal so much that he and the remaining two encouraged each other and vowed to carry out the battle to the end. They then retreated deep into the mountains.
Fast forward to 1952, when a large number of Japanese newspapers and family letters from the three people appeared in the mountains and forests, hoping that they could accept the reality of the end of the war. But Onoda still believed that this was the enemy's strategy to lure the enemy, which made him more determined to fight. In 1953, one of Onoda's soldiers, Shoichi Shimada, was shot on the spot in a clash, and now there are only two people left in the team. The local search team had always wanted them both to understand that the war was long over, but the two men still believed that the war was still going on and that their commander would lead a counterattack and then capture the entire island. In the end, Onoda's brother came to shout, but he still thought that the enemy was planning to capture him.
Time passed by minute by minute, and the two Japanese soldiers lived in the deep mountains and old forests. It wasn't until October 1972 that they were discovered by villagers and then Shotoji Kozuka, on the spot, when Onoda's last subordinate, was shot dead, that it caused a huge sensation in Tokyo. The Japanese also immediately organized personnel to search for the remnants of soldiers in Southeast Asia, and a large number of leaflets flew in the sky, but Onoda remained unmoved. On February 20, 1974, Onoda accidentally met the explorer Norio Suzuki. After some conversation, he was told that the war was really long gone and that he didn't have to fight anymore. However, Onoda said that he could not disobey the order of the chief unless he personally said the word surrender to himself, and Suzuki also promised him that the next time he saw him, he would carry the order to surrender.
After returning to Japan, Suzuki also struggled to find Yoshimi Taniguchi and took him to the vicinity of Lubang Island. On March 9, 1974, Onoda saw a message left by Suzuki saying that his commander had arrived and asked him to go to the designated place to receive orders. Two days later, Onoda finally met his then-commander and formally accepted the order to surrender.
In the 29 years since Japan's surrender, Onoda killed and wounded a total of 130 locals, including many police and civilians. Although many people wanted him to pay the price, after some communication and negotiation in Japan, he was finally pardoned and sent back to Japan. Until the end, Onoda was still entangled in World War II, and militarism was deeply rooted in ideology and could not be well integrated into society. But he always participated in some so-called "patriotic" activities, and became a "hero" in the hearts of many people, perhaps this is the nature of these people.