The Last Soldier: How a Japanese Officer Fought World War II for 29 Years After It Ended

In 1944, Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda was sent to a remote Philippine island with orders to spy on American forces. His final command: never surrender, no matter what. He took those orders so seriously that when World War II ended in 1945, Onoda refused to believe it. For the next 29 years, he continued his one-man guerrilla war, living in the jungle, raiding local villages for supplies, and dismissing all attempts to convince him the war was over as enemy propaganda. Leaflets, newspapers, even letters from his family were all rejected as elaborate American tricks. By the time his former commander personally traveled to the jungle to relieve him of duty in 1974, Onoda had become a living ghost from another era – a soldier who had killed some 30 civilians while fighting a war that had ended when Harry Truman was president. Discover the extraordinary story of loyalty, isolation, and psychological conviction that kept one man fighting decades after peace was declared.Support the show here via Paypal:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=DWSYBNBMAY9AL&no_recurring=0&item_name=Thanks+for+your+help%21&currency_code=USD