Hiroo Onoda finally surrendered on Lubang Island in the Philippines in 1974.
Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army second lieutenant sent to Lubang in 1944. His orders emphasized guerrilla warfare and instructed him not to surrender. After Japan's 1945 surrender, he and several companions continued hiding because they believed leaflets and other messages announcing the war's end were enemy deception.
One companion surrendered in 1950, while the others died in separate encounters. Onoda remained in the island's forests, conducting raids and surviving for years before Japanese adventurer Norio Suzuki located him in February 1974.
Onoda still refused to surrender until his former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, traveled to Lubang and formally relieved him of duty. Onoda surrendered to Philippine forces on 10 March 1974.
He had spent nearly 29 years continuing his wartime mission. Private Teruo Nakamura, arrested later in 1974, was the last known Japanese holdout to be discovered.