Last Axis Soldier To Surrender

[Hakaider]

Two Japanese Imperial Army soldiers, Lt. Hiroo Onoda and Private Teruo Nakamura are on record as being the very last WWII Japanese soldiers, and the very last WWII Axis soldiers to surrender to the Allied forces. The most famous of the two is Lt. Hiroo Onoda who surrendered in the Philippines some 29 years later after WWII had ended on March 9, 1974.

Lt. Hiroo Onoda in 1944


During WWII, Lt. Hiroo Onoda served as an intelligence officer, and was stationed in the Philippines. Unlike his other contemporary officers who were told to commit suicide, rather than surrender in combat to the Americans, he was told by his commanding officers to survive as long as he could, and to do so by any means necessary. Lt. Hiroo Onoda took his mission goal very seriously, and for 29 years, he eluded the Philippine military & police, while hiding in the deep jungles of Lubang. There were numerous attempts by Japanese WWII veterans & the local authorities to get him to surrender, but Lt. Hiroo Onoda thought that the end of WWII was all propaganda.

When the Japanese explorer, Norio Suzuki accidentally met him in the Lubang jungle in 1974, Onoda demanded proof from him that the war had ended. His former commanding officer, Major Taniguchi, (Who was now a bookseller) was sent to the Philippines to give Onoda his final orders, and to surrender immediately.

Norio Suzuki meets Hiroo Onoda


When Onoda surrendered to Major Taniguchi & the local authorities, his officer's sword, his Arisaka Type 99 rifle were still in good working order, and he also carried 500 rounds of ammunition and several hand grenades. (He was also carrying the dagger his mother had given him in 1944 for protection.)



When Onoda returned to Japan, he was given a hero's welcome, and he wrote a book about his life story called "No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War". (The book has since been translated into English.) His mother was also still alive, and she was shocked & overjoyed to see him when he returned to Japan in 1974. (His family thought he had been killed in the war a long time ago.)

Private Teruo Nakamura is on record as being the last Japanese soldier to surrender on December 18, 1974. He was accidentally discovered in Indonesia by a pilot in 1974, and Indonesian soldiers were sent to capture him. However, Teruo Nakamura technically was not Japanese, but a native aboriginal Taiwanese, and he was forcibly drafted into the Japanese Army during WWII. (He passed away from lung cancer in 1979.)

At this time of writing, Hiroo Onoda is still alive today and alternates between living in Japan & Brazil.

Hiroo Onoda Today

[Super Ordinary Guy]

At this time of writing, Hiroo Onoda is still alive today and alternates between living in Japan & Brazil.

Hiroo Onoda Today

I saw a special on him and he still HATES Americans.....

He alternates between Japan and Brazil because Japan wouldn't tolerate his hatred and he couldn't tolerate their feelings about the war. That was kind of the core of the matter, so he goes back and forth...

I saw this last year sometime and was completely surprised as to his feelings today.....

[Hakaider]

I saw a special on him and he still HATES Americans.....

He alternates between Japan and Brazil because Japan wouldn't tolerate his hatred and he couldn't tolerate their feelings about the war. That was kind of the core of the matter, so he goes back and forth...

I saw this last year sometime and was completely surprised as to his feelings today.....

Unfortunately, some soldiers cannot let go, even after many years have passed. After the war ended, some of the WWII Japanese veterans have become good friends with the U.S. & Allied veterans, while some have not.

A good example of this is one of the Japanese pilots who led the first wave on the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mitsuo Fuchida. After the war ended, Fuchida became greatly disillusioned with his government after the war ended. He converted to Christianity, and became a missionary pastor. He also had obtained a green card, and resided for a time in the United States. (Fuchida passed away from diabetic complications in Kashiwara, near Osaka on May 30, 1976 at the age of 73.)

Keep in mind also that in Hiroo Onoda's mind, he was still "fighting" against the Americans some 29 years after the war had ended. (He had numerous skirmishes with the Philippine police during his 29 years in the Lubang jungle, and some of the men under his command were killed.) He also did not have time to adjust, when Japan went through the post-war period. (Especially, when the Americans occupied Japan, and made sweeping reforms in the Japanese government.)

The Japan that Onoda had left during WWII, was radically different from the Japan that he had returned to in 1974. In many ways, his mentality was still stuck in prewar & WWII Japan. (Girls wearing miniskirts & Go Go boots & loud disco music proved to be too much for him to adjust.)

If you drop a man off from the 1940's suddenly into our present world, it's very likely that he would have quite a difficult time to adjust in our time. (Shades of Captain America!)

The interesting thing about it is that there were actually several Japanese Imperial Army officers & Imperial Naval officers who thought that it was a mistake to fight the Americans. Many of them believed that they should have fought the Russians & the communists instead. However, they had to put their feelings aside, because they believed that the wishes of their government should come first.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, (Who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor) also opposed the war with America, and he thought that it was also a big mistake. He had made many friends in America when he studied at Harvard University in America, and spoke English quite fluently. He also opposed Japan's invasion of China, and was greatly opposed to Japan joining the 1940 Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany. (He felt strongly that the Nazis could not be trusted, and Adolph Hitler would turn on Japan eventually.) However, out of duty to his country, and to his Emperor, he had to put those feelings aside when he was asked to fight.

It's the same with the WWII veterans of the German military. Some have become good friends with the WWII American & Allied forces after the war have ended, while some have not.

But irregardless of Hiroo Sonoda's feelings, he is still on the record books as the 2nd to the last Axis soldier to surrender.

However, although there were unconfirmed accounts that there were Japanese soldiers still hiding in the various jungles of the South Pacific & Southeast Asia, long after Hiroo Sonoda and Teruo Nakamura had surrendered. (There were unconfirmed sightings & rumours as late as 1997.) Whether that is true or not, it may remain as one of the great mystery of our times.

[Blackthorn]

Once again, fascinating thread, Hakaider. I remember when those two were found. I'm glad to find out more info on them.

[Super Ordinary Guy]

Good points and comparisons....

it was interesting for me to be in Germany in 1962 as I could see bombed out buildings that hadn't been rebuilt...

I was stationed at an Army post that had been a German post during the war.....

I dated quite a few German girls who had relatives that were stationed there and they had pictures of the same post with Nazi Guards... keep of freaky at first but you got used to it...

Then there was the conversations with Uncles who had served and fathers etc etc...
Very interesting conversations and two of my friends married two married from there and are still married to them today... We get together every few years and I am still learning more interesting bits of info every time we meet....

Big difference when talking to people who lived through those times and reading about it in the papers or movies/TV etc etc......

Here is the main gate when I was there in 62..



Here is the same post during WWII

[Hakaider]

@blackthorn:

Thank you, blackthorn.


@Super Ordinary Guy:

Wow...What a difference just a few decades makes.

[Super Ordinary Guy]

@Super Ordinary Guy:

Wow...What a difference just a few decades makes.

Yeah so true,,, I think the guy on the left got promoted to SGT.....