Hiroo Onoda - Fighting A Lost War
A tale showing just how far values like loyalty, pride, determination, and commitment may take you — for good or for ill.
Several years ago, I read about the story of Hiroo Onoda. It was a tale about perseverance, dedication to duty, stubbornness, and delusion.
Hiroo Onoda was born in 1922 in the small town of Kainan, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. He grew up in a rural farming community and was fascinated with the outdoors and survival skills. Onoda joined the Japanese Imperial Army in 1942 and was selected to join the Imperial Japanese Army's Intelligence School. He was sent to the Philippines in 1944, where he was assigned to the 14th Area Army, tasked with defending the Philippines against the Allied forces. Hiroo Onoda joined the Japanese army in 1942 and was assigned to the Imperial Japanese Army's Intelligence Service. Onoda was trained as a guerrilla fighter and sent to the Philippines in 1944, where he was stationed on the island of Lubang.
When the war ended in August 1945, Onoda and a few other soldiers refused to believe that the war was over. They thought it was a trick by the enemy and that they were to continue fighting until they received orders to stop. They retreated into the jungle and began a long, arduous campaign to survive and evade capture.
Onoda and his comrades survived by stealing food and supplies from the local population and avoiding contact with the Philippine military. They lived in crude shelters and constantly moved to avoid detection. Onoda was determined to carry out his orders to the letter, and he believed that his duty was to fight for the Emperor until he received orders to stop.
For 29 years, Onoda and his comrades continued their guerrilla campaign, even as the world around them changed. They continued to believe they were fighting a war that had not ended and was convinced that their cause was just.
In 1974, Onoda was finally convinced to surrender by a Japanese explorer sent to find him. Onoda emerged from the jungle wearing his tattered uniform and carrying his still-functional rifle. He saluted his former commanding officer and handed him his sword, which he had carried for 29 years.
After Hiroo Onoda returned to Japan in 1974, he was initially met with a mix of curiosity and admiration for his incredible story of survival and dedication to duty. However, he struggled to adapt to civilian life.
Onoda found it difficult adjusting to the changes in Japan during his time in the jungle. He was particularly struck by the changes in technology and social norms, which he found difficult to understand. Onoda also found it hard to relate to people who had not experienced the same challenges he had faced during his time in the jungle.
Onoda had difficulty reconciling his experiences in the jungle with the reality of modern society. He had spent nearly 30 years fighting a war that had ended long before, and it was difficult for him to understand why his beliefs and actions were no longer relevant. Onoda's sense of duty and loyalty to his country had been the driving force behind his prolonged guerrilla campaign, and it was hard for him to accept that he had been fighting a futile battle.
Despite these challenges, Onoda became a celebrity in Japan, and his story was widely celebrated. He wrote a memoir, "No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War," which became a bestseller in Japan and was later translated into several languages. Onoda was also invited to speak at events and schools throughout the country, where he shared his experiences and lessons learned from his time in the jungle.
In 1975, Onoda returned to Lubang Island in the Philippines, where he had spent most of his time as a guerrilla fighter. He donated money to the local community and visited the graves of his fallen comrades. He also met with the man who had finally convinced him to surrender, Norio Suzuki, who had become a popular figure in Japan due to his role in bringing Onoda back to civilization.
After several years of struggling to adapt to civilian life in Japan, Onoda moved to Brazil in 1976, where he started a cattle ranch. He became a popular speaker, sharing his experiences and lessons learned from his time in the jungle. He continued to visit Japan regularly and remained a popular figure until his death in 2014 at 91.
Hiroo Onoda's story is a testament to the power of perseverance and determination. It is a reminder of the human cost of war and the sacrifices some people are willing to make to serve their country. While his story is remarkable, it's a cautionary tale about the dangers of fighting past wars. Onoda's story highlights the importance of adapting to changing circumstances and moving forward.
As time passes, the world changes and circumstances shift, causing old battles and conflicts to lose relevance. While it is essential to honor and remember the sacrifices made by those who fought in past wars, it is also necessary to acknowledge that the world has moved on. Continuing to fight a war long after it has ended can harm the individuals involved and society as a whole. In Onoda's case, his prolonged guerrilla campaign resulted in the deaths of several people and caused fear and disruption in the local community.
While it is natural to hold on to beliefs and ideas that we hold dear, it is also essential to recognize when it is time to let go and move on.
Clayton is the founder and publisher of the social and political commentary newsletter Think Things Through and the host of the Think Things Through Podcast.
It is impossible to know for certain what any individual soldier's motives are, especially in such an extreme manifestation of a sense of devotion to duty as this. For my own part, my concept of any duty I may have to my country is absolutely removed from any sense of having a duty to its government, which I for one have always regarded as nonexistent.
I cannot even conceive of such a faith in one's sovereign or state as to spend three decades waiting for the order to stand down, when I've spent most of the past five or so telling this regime where it can stick its demands.
But that was then and this is now, and I was born in a country where I came to believe that acknowledgement and defense of individual liberty is the only reason its government has any right to exist, and that to the extent it violates these rights I have a duty to refuse its demands. He was born in a country where the idea of an individual even having any rights at all was an entirely alien notion, where one's very existence is legitimized only by being a servant of one's Emperor.
I have no right to say he was wrong, any more than these proponents of 'liberal democracy' among western intelligentsia have any grounds to posture about Russian citizens dodging the draft or their soldiers refusing orders in the field, as though this were what they owe to the world. It turns out Russians love their country too, and many believe that their duty to serve takes precedence over any political views they may have about the nature of their service.
A bit of wandering off the topic here maybe, but in the process of the 'west' assembling its easy and standardized daily narratives about the war in Ukraine, there has come with it a certain smug dismissiveness toward the thought of seeing Russians as human beings, who love their country as much as they might hate its politics, and have to somehow make a life out of both without simply becoming deserters or traitors.
This story above calls to mind that very ancient and insoluble conundrum, of how is the most morally acceptable way to go about loving one's country.
Anyone claiming to have one final answer, is lying. Even if only to themselves.