The night before Hiroo was sent to the battlefield; his mother pricked her finger and wrote messages with her own blood on a tapestry. The meaning of her writing was “一死報国 (Until your death, contribute to our country)”. Hiroo begged for an Onoda family ancestral short sword. Hiroo’s Mother passed the sword to him and said, “If you have the possibility of being captured, do not live with disgrace on the Onoda family name, but die using this sword with honor.” He just gave a nod thinking that it was for self-defense to live. He had to have conflicting teachings from the Nakano Academy and his mother.
On December, 17, 1944, Hiroo and his classmates left for Manila by Army bomber plane. During the flight, the air conditioning system had a malfunction which caused them shivering due to the low temperature inside the plane. After they reached Manila, the war situation had been changed rapidly. A man with a dark-skin tone named Major Taniguchi welcomed them. Here Hiroo met the key person in his life. Major Taniguchi had to play a very important role in rescuing Hiroo. He first assigned Hiroo to the 8th Infantry Division, and then to Lubang Island, which he never heard of before. Major Taniguchi gave his orders and Hiroo was given the following tasks.
1. Train the island’s guards in guerilla warfare.
2. After the main battle force evacuated the war zone, remain behind enemy lines to perform spying and other guerilla tactics.
The first mission was to blow-up of the Lubang runway and bridges to slow down the U.S. attack on Japanese troops which were deployed in Luzon Island. The second mission was to kill the crew and destroy their airplanes if enemies use the runway,
By chance, Lieutenant General Yokoyamawas there, and he encouraged Hiroo personally not to die, but to live, whatever it takes; to continue the mission while eating coconuts for three to five years until he would be rescued. Hiroo was inspired by the words of the famous higher official; he felt the importance of his mission and reaffirmed his determination to complete the mission.
At that time, Japan was thought to have lost the war. Hiroo received exact information such as the area where a U.S. submarine appeared; he then left for the island by a ship with large-scaled maps and high explosives which abetted his life for about 29 years. Hiroo had disguised himself as a civilian and as the ship navigated around torpedo boats towards Lubang Island, big mountains towering over 500-600 meters above sea level in the center of the Island appeared in front of him.
It was around the last quarter of 1944. He was 22 years old then.
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Chapter 5. Lubang Island
