History
Hiroo Onoda: Holdout on Lubang Island
Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who kept fighting on Lubang Island in the Philippines until 1974, is traced here from the Nakano School in Tokyo to Lubang's mountains and Manila's Malacañang Palace.
Sent to Lubang on 26 December 1944 with orders never to surrender, Onoda stayed in hiding for 28 years, 6 months and 8 days after Japan's surrender. The route follows his training, his years in the hills, his surrender in March 1974 and a disputed return visit in 1996. Several locations are approximate, and accounts of the violence on the island are contested.
Timeline & locations
What do the location labels mean?
- Exact
- The pin marks the actual place where it happened or was filmed.
- Approximate
- The right area — a town, park or district — but not a precise spot.
Onoda was conscripted into the army in 1942 and trained as an intelligence officer at the Futamata branch of the Nakano School, where he was instructed in guerrilla warfare. The main school was located in 4 Chome Nakano, Tokyo, and the school's history names Onoda as a graduate who did not surrender until 1974 on Lubang Island. The pin marks the main school's district in Nakano, not the Futamata branch.
Open area inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMap35.70862, 139.66294Visitability not confirmedLocation precision: Onoda trained at the Futamata branch; the pin marks the main school's district in Nakano, Tokyo.
Sources
- Hiroo Onoda
- Locator:
- Early life and service; Time in hiding; Later life
- Nakano School
- Locator:
- History; Post-war era
- Hiroo Onoda
On 26 December 1944 Onoda was sent to lead guerrilla operations on Lubang, about 250 square kilometres of island. His orders explicitly said that under no circumstances was he to surrender or take his own life. Only he and three other soldiers remained, and he led them into the mountains. They lived on bananas, coconuts, stolen rice and cattle. After Kozuka was killed in October 1972, Onoda was alone.
Open area inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMap13.76750, 120.18611Visitability not confirmedLocation precision: The hiding place in the mountains is not named; the pin marks the island.
Sources
- Lubang Island
- Locator:
- Geography
- Hiroo Onoda
- Locator:
- Early life and service; Time in hiding; Later life
- Lubang Island
The adventurer Norio Suzuki, who said he was looking for "Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the abominable snowman, in that order", found Onoda after four days of searching. Onoda still waited for orders. His former commander, Major Taniguchi, met him in the jungle on 9 March and relieved him of duty. On 10 March 1974 Onoda surrendered to Philippine forces at Lubang's radar base.
Open area inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMap13.85860, 120.12280Visitability not confirmedLocation precision: The radar base site is not named; the pin marks the town of Lubang.
Sources
- Hiroo Onoda
- Locator:
- Early life and service; Time in hiding; Later life
- Hiroo Onoda
On 11 March 1974 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos held a formal surrender ceremony for Onoda at Malacañang Palace, the residence of the Philippine presidents. Marcos granted him a full pardon for any crimes committed while in hiding. Onoda handed over his sword, a working Type 99 rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition. He had held out 10,416 days after Japan's surrender in 1945.
Sources
- Hiroo Onoda
- Locator:
- Early life and service; Time in hiding; Later life
- Malacañang Palace
- Locator:
- Introduction
- Hiroo Onoda
In 1996 Onoda returned to Lubang and visited the town of Looc, after his wife arranged a US$10,000 scholarship donation to the local school. Filipino media had alleged that he and his men killed up to thirty civilians. The town council asked him to compensate the families of seven people, and about fifty close relatives of alleged victims protested against the visit.
Open area inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMap13.72000, 120.25000Visitability not confirmedLocation precision: The town is named but no exact site; the pin marks Looc.
Sources
- Hiroo Onoda
- Locator:
- Early life and service; Time in hiding; Later life
- Hiroo Onoda