File:Onoda-young.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Hiroo Onoda
Sign in to saveAlso known as Onoda Hiroo
Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer (1922-2014)
Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese military officer who famously continued fighting World War II alone in the Philippine jungle for nearly 30 years after the war ended in 1945, refusing to believe Japan had surrendered. His extraordinary story of isolation and persistence makes him a remarkable historical figure who challenges our understanding of loyalty, warfare, and how long someone can resist accepting reality.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
In the Vinony graph
Vinony's link graph records 64 inbound references to Hiroo Onoda, and connects out to Kainan, Tokyo and Japanese.
It is catalogued under topics including 1922 births, 2014 deaths and Aftermath of World War II in the Philippines.
Vinony links it to 57 Wikipedia language editions.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Empire of Japan
- Place of birth
- Kainan
- Place of death
- Tokyo
- Occupation
- autobiographer
- Languages spoken
- Japanese
- Country
- Japan
- Military branch
- reconnaissance
- Military rank
- sub-lieutenant
- Official website
- onoda-shizenjuku.jp
- Image
- Hiroo Onoda young.jpg
Show 11 more facts
- date of death
- 2014-01-16
- date of birth
- 1922-03-19
- Commons category
- Hiroo Onoda
- name in kana
- おのだ ひろお
- name in native language
- 小野田寛郎
- cause of death
- heart failure
- allegiance
- Imperial Japanese Army
- start of work period
- 1940-00-00
- military unit
- 8th Division
- manner of death
- natural causes
- end of work period
- 1974-03-09
Sources (6)
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo; IPA: [o̞no̞da̠ çiɾo̞ː]) 19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was a Japanese soldier who served as a second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. One of the last Japanese holdouts, Onoda continued fighting for nearly 29 years after the war's end in 1945, carrying out guerrilla warfare on Lubang Island in the Philippines until 1974.
Onoda initially held out with three other soldiers. One surrendered in 1950, and two were killed, one in 1954 and one in 1972. The men did not believe flyers and letters from their families stating that the war was over. They survived on wild fruits, game, and stolen rice, and occasionally engaged in shootouts (using their service rifles) with locals and police. Onoda was contacted in the jungles of Lubang by Japanese adventurer Norio Suzuki in 1974 but still refused to surrender until he was formally relieved of duty by his former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who flew from Japan to the island to issue the order.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Hiroo Onoda” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.