Hiroo Onoda remained in hiding on Lubang Island in the Philippines after Japan’s 1945 surrender.
Onoda was a Japanese Army second lieutenant sent to Lubang in December 1944 to conduct guerrilla operations and resist an Allied landing. After Japan surrendered, he and three companions continued living in the island’s mountainous areas because they believed surrender notices were enemy propaganda.
One companion surrendered in 1950, and the other two later died. Onoda continued alone after 1972. In 1974, Japanese adventurer Norio Suzuki located him, but Onoda refused to surrender until his former commanding officer formally relieved him of duty.
Onoda finally surrendered on 10 March 1974. His story is often summarized as a soldier who did not know the war had ended, but the details involve prolonged distrust of leaflets, family messages, and search teams. Lubang is a Philippine island west of Mindoro, not the larger island of Luzon.