Last Samurai, Hiroo Onoda

Written By TSUMUTAKE

Prologue

In 1972, 28 years after World War II, a soldier for the Japanese Imperial Army, Shinichi Yokoi was found in Guam. Yokoi lived in a dense jungle thinking that the war had not yet ended, as he hid in a basement sanctuary for 28 years. When Yokoi tried to trap Shrimp and Eel, the local hunters accidentally found him.

Shinichi Yokoi was miraculously sent back to Japan and became an instant news topic. The news was so sensational that it remained in the minds of the Japanese people.

In 1974, no one thought that there were still Japanese soldiers in the world, much less, soldiers continuing to battle as though there was still an on-going war. However, some Japanese soldiers were accidentally discovered in Lubang Island in Mindoro; Phillippines, one of them was Hiroo Onoda a 2nd Lt. Army Officer. Onoda was 52 years old at the time and had been hiding in the jungle with the order to fight. He was still an active duty soldier with great fighting spirit! Onoda’s unfading military character surprised a lot of people throughout the world.

For about 30 years Hiroo Onoda had one thing on his mind: Accomplish his mission. In order to descend from the mountain he would have to receive the order from his commanding officer, without the order, he would not do so.

Onoda had been fighting for about 30 years under the “spell” of his commanding officer: “Fight, though you are the only remaining survivor.”

Next Chapter

Chapter 1. Born and Raised In a Samurai Family