Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier during World War II who remained hidden on a Philippine island for 29 years after the war ended, has died.
Onoda died in a Tokyo hospital, reports The Associated Press. Chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga praised Onoda’s spirit. “After World War II, Mr. Onoda lived in the jungle for many years and when he returned to Japan, I felt that finally, the war was finished. That’s how I felt,” Suga said.
Although Japan surrendered to the U.S. in 1945, Onoda and several other soldiers refused to accept any change in their orders. NBC News notes that even after he was found on the island of Lubang in March 1974, he wouldn’t surrender unless his former officer changed his orders to stay there. His original orders included spying on American troops.
He formally surrendered to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, still wearing the same uniform and carrying the same sword he had almost 30 years before. He was 52 at the time. When he returned to Japan, he was hailed as a war hero.
According to Jiji Press, after his return, he moved to Brazil in 1975. He also began a camping community in the 1980s and was awarded a Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2005 for his work with young people. He also went back to the Philippine island where he was found in 1996.
“I don’t consider those 30 years a waste of time. Without that experience, I wouldn’t have my life today,” Onoda told the AP in 1995.
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