Unbroken: The Story of a Japanese Guerrilla Who Kept Fighting 30 Years After WWII Ended (7 Photos)

Neither time nor shifting political tides could break the spirit of a true warrior. A Japanese soldier who kept up a guerrilla war in the Philippines long after World War II had ended has passed away. Dismissing news of the war's end as enemy propaganda, he finally ended his private war in March 1974—nearly thirty years late.

For decades, Hiroo Onoda remained steadfast in his military duty, refusing to surrender and surviving off the grid in punishing conditions. Read on for the remarkable story of this unwavering soldier.





In 1944, a commander ordered 22-year-old Hiroo Onoda and three of his comrades to hold out until ultimate victory. Bound by duty, the soldier continued his fight deep behind enemy lines in the Philippines for 30 years after World War II had drawn to a close.

The second lieutenant kept his promise, even after losing all three comrades and hearing reports that the war was over. Onoda surrendered only when his long-retired commanding officer personally traveled to him and ordered him to stand down. Living in the jungle of Lubang Island, the dutiful soldier didn't even know that the United States had dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.



When US and Philippine forces captured Lubang Island in 1945, nearly all the occupying Japanese troops were killed or captured. Onoda, a master of survival, led the remaining men deep into the island's jungle interior, where they launched a guerrilla campaign. Despite Japan's defeat, the second lieutenant dismissed a surrender order air-dropped from a helicopter by General Tomoyuki Yamashita, noting that the document was full of errors.





The small band kept up their campaign, surviving on tropical fruit and livestock stolen from local farmers. Over 30 years, they killed 30 Filipinos after mistaking them for enemy combatants. One soldier abandoned the group in 1950; four years later, a second was killed by a search party hunting them; and the third was shot dead by local police in 1972. Left entirely alone, Onoda continued to evade the search teams periodically sent into the jungle to track him down and secure his surrender.



The unyielding holdout even rejected a Japanese flag left in the jungle signed by his family. He also ignored an audio recording from his aging mother, who pleaded: "Please come home while I'm still alive."

Hiroo Onoda finally surrendered in 1974 after being tracked down by Norio Suzuki, a young Japanese hippie backpacker. Suzuki famously claimed he set out to search for "Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the Abominable Snowman, in that order." The young traveler managed to gain Onoda's trust, but the stubborn soldier still refused to step out of hiding without direct orders. In the end, his former commanding officer—who had long since retired—traveled to the jungle to issue the formal order to stand down.



The loyal soldier surrendered his sword, his still-serviceable rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, several hand grenades, and the dagger his mother had given him to take his own life if captured. Onoda met his commander wearing the same worn military uniform he had walked into the jungle with 30 years earlier. He offered his formal apologies to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos for the 30 islanders killed by his group.



The holdout returned to Japan in 1974 at age 52, greeted as a national hero for faithfully executing his commander's 1944 orders: "It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, we will come back for you." Yet back home, Onoda was stunned by how much his country had changed. To his dismay, he found traditional values replaced by modern consumerism.



For a time, Onoda lived in Brazil working as a cattle rancher before returning to Japan to establish a nature camp for children on the outskirts of Tokyo. The resilient soldier lived another 39 years after emerging from the jungle, passing away in Tokyo on January 16, 2014, at the age of 91.