The Japanese youth Onoda Hiroo was drafted into the army in 1942. At that time he was 20 years old, before the call he worked in a private trading company and was actively engaged in martial arts. At that time, the young man could not even imagine that for him the Second World War would last for decades, and would end only in 1974. In 1944, already in the rank of senior sergeant, Onoda was sent to the school, in which intelligence officers were trained. But a few months later the study had to be interrupted: Onoda Hiroo was appointed commander of a subversive detachment and sent to the Philippines. A young officer was ordered to commit sabotage at American military facilities. To surrender or commit suicide was strictly prohibited. A month later, the island of Lubang, on which the Japanese group operated, completely passed under the control of American troops. The saboteurs had to go into the impenetrable jungle, where they attacked the enemy's military facilities, and it happened, as in the fields of civilians. In addition to the commander, the group consisted of rank-and-file Yuichi Akatsu, Kincity Kodzuka and corporal Seichi Simada. The saboteurs did not have any connection with the outside world: they did not have radio stations, they naturally did not read the newspapers. Therefore, to learn that the war has long ended, could not. In late 1945, over the jungle, leaflets were thrown from the aircraft with orders from the Japanese command to lay down their arms and surrender. These leaflets fell into the hands of Onoda Hiroo, but he decided that this was an enemy propaganda. A few years later, Private Yuichi Akatsu escaped from the group and surrendered to the Philippine police, and in 1954 during a skirmish with the guards of order, Corporal Seichi Simada was killed. In the jungle there were two Japanese who did not want to believe that the world had long since arrived. Under an agreement with the Government of the Philippines, a Japanese commission was established, which for several years was engaged in the search for its soldiers. But it was not possible to find Onodu and Kozuki. In May 1969, they were found dead and awarded the Order of the Rising Sun. In 1972, Onoda Hiroo was left alone, his subordinate was killed in another shootout. Two years later, a Japanese student Norio Suzuki, who traveled the Philippine jungle, accidentally met with a recluse warrior. The student informed Onoda that the war had ended many years ago, and offered to withdraw from the underground. But the proud officer said that he obeys only the orders of his commander - Major Taniguchi, who sent him to the island. The young traveler returned to Japan and sought out a major who worked in the bookshop after the war. On March 9, 1974, Taniguchi flew to Lubang, got in touch with Onoda while wearing a military uniform, and announced the following order to him: 1. According to His Majesty's order, all military units are exempt from military operations. 2. Under Order No. 2003 on Combat Operations A, a special group of the General Staff of the Fourteenth Army is exempt from all operations. 3. All units and persons who are subordinate to a special group of the General Staff of the Fourteenth Army must immediately stop fighting and maneuvers and transfer to the command of the closest higher officers. If this is not possible, they must directly contact the US Army or the armies of their allies and follow their instructions.
After 30 years, the partisan laid down his arms and surrendered to the government of the Philippines. According to the Philippine legislation, Onede was threatened with the death penalty for robberies and murders, attacks on the police and the military during 1945-1974, but thanks to the intervention of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, he was pardoned. The surrender ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials from both countries, including the then president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos. Onoda solemnly returned to his homeland on March 12, 1974. During his thirty years of sabotage, Onoda committed about a hundred attacks on US military and Filipino police. In the exchanges with Onoda and his group, about 30 people were killed, more than 100 were injured. Due to the campaign of harassment in the media and the difficulties in adapting to the conditions of post-war Japan, Onoda decided to leave his homeland. In April 1975, he moved to Brazil, where since the end of the XIX century there is a large Japanese diaspora. A year later, Onoda married and began to engage in cattle breeding. For ten years he managed to create a ranch with an area of 1200 hectares for 1800 heads of cattle. Along with this, Onoda founded in 1978 the society "Japanese of Brazil" and served as its chairman for eight years. In 1984, Onoda returned to Japan and founded a public organization for the education of a healthy young generation. Under the guidance of the Onoda, the school annually held summer camps for children and their parents throughout Japan, organized assistance to disabled children, held scientific conferences dedicated to education.
On December 6, 2004, Onoda became the first of the Japanese to be awarded the Santos-Dumont medal, the highest award of the Brazilian Air Force for civilians. He also received the title of honorary citizen of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso from the government of that state. On November 3, 2005, the Japanese government awarded Onoda the Medal of Honor with a blue ribbon "for merits before the community." The veteran died on January 16, 2014, just 2 months before 92 years old.