Hiroo Onoda surrendered on Lubang Island in 1974 after refusing to believe World War II had ended.
Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army second lieutenant sent to Lubang in the Philippines in December 1944. He was ordered to conduct guerrilla operations and was explicitly told not to surrender or take his own life.
After Japan’s 1945 surrender, Onoda and several companions remained in the island’s mountains. He rejected leaflets and other notices saying the war was over, believing they were Allied deception. One companion surrendered in 1950, while the others died before Onoda was found.
Japanese adventurer Norio Suzuki located him in February 1974. Onoda still required formal orders from his former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi. After Taniguchi relieved him of duty, Onoda surrendered to Philippine forces on 10 March 1974.