Hiroo Onoda finally surrendered in the Philippines in 1974, almost 29 years after Japan’s 1945 surrender.
Onoda was a Japanese Army intelligence officer stationed on Lubang Island. His commanding officer had ordered him to continue his mission and not surrender, so he and several fellow soldiers remained in the island’s forests after the war ended.
Other members of his group were killed or surrendered over the following years. Onoda continued to believe that the war was still underway, dismissing leaflets and other messages as enemy deception. He surrendered only after his former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, traveled to the Philippines and formally relieved him of duty.
Onoda handed over his sword to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on 9 March 1974. His case is distinct from other holdouts, including Shoichi Yokoi and Teruo Nakamura, who surrendered in different places and circumstances.