The Unbelievable Story of a Japanese Soldier Who Fought WWII for 30 Years Too Long
A tale that some sees as dedication, duty, and devotion to his country, while others observe as naive
Imagine planning a surprise party for your best friend. You hide in his room with a cake, you have decorated his room with balloons and ribbon Chandeliers, you wrapped a lovely gift. You switch off all the lights waiting for him.
But he does not come. Minutes turn into hours, hours into days, days into weeks, but he does not arrive. Your dedication prevents you from leaving his room, just in case he comes.
The story of this Japanese Soldier, Hiroo Onoda, was very similar, but much more tragic, and inspiring. The tale is how a mixture of dedication, a sense of duty, devotion to country, and stubborn paranoia, cost a man the major portion of his life.
“The sun began to sink. I inspected my rifle and retied my boots … I jumped over a barbed-wire fence and made for the shade of a nearby bosa tree, where I paused, took a deep breath, and looked at the tent again. All was still quiet. The time came. I gripped my rifle, thrust out my chest, and walked forward into the open.”
