Hiroo Onoda became famous for remaining in the Philippines until surrendering in 1974.
Onoda was a Japanese army intelligence officer sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines in 1944. His orders emphasized guerrilla operations and instructed him not to surrender. After Japan’s formal surrender in 1945, he and several fellow soldiers continued hiding in the island’s forests, believing that the war had not truly ended or that surrender notices were Allied deception.
Three companions eventually left the group or died. Onoda remained in hiding for decades, conducting occasional attacks and surviving in the difficult tropical environment. His former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, traveled to the Philippines in March 1974 and formally released him from his wartime orders.
Onoda then surrendered to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in March 1974. He was not the last Japanese holdout overall: Teruo Nakamura surrendered in Indonesia later in 1974. That distinction is a common source of confusion when discussing Japan’s postwar holdouts.