Contributed By Sri Sushi Kanth Putcha
Norio Suzuki was a young man with humanitarian values. His fascination for the soldiers during WW2 made him travel across the globe in search of those WW2 soldiers who have not yet returned to Japan. “What happened to them? Did they die? Or are they still alive?”. These were the questions that bothered Mr. Suzuki, and made him travel to Philippines to uncover the story of a soldier called ‘Hiroo Onoda’
With absolutely no idea of where to find him, except for the fact that he was last posted in Lumbang Island in Philippines. Upon reaching Philippines, Suzuki inquired with many people about a missing Japanese soldier. After four days of research, he came to know about a man who lived in the Lumbang mountain range who only spoke Japanese and fired if any one entered the area with weapons.
Suzuki’s curiosity grew. He went to Lumbang island. He traveled into the forest area looking for this strange Japanese man. Suddenly a rifle knob is coiled back and the rifle was aimed at Suzuki. The man who aimed at Suzuki had a rage in his eyes, unwavering focus and steadfast determination. Suzuki found Hiroo Onoda in 1974.
Suzuki explained about himself, his identification and asked whether if he was Hiroo Onoda. After proper checking Onoda confirmed his identity. For the next four days Suzuki stayed with Onoda. The story that Onoda shared with Suzuki gave him spine chills. Suzuki returned to Japan and immediately reported to the authorities about Hiroo Onoda’s whereabouts.
26th February 1945.
Onoda along with three other soldiers were the only one’s who did not surrender to the joint forces of US Armed forces and Philippines Commonwealth force. As Onoda was the Lieutenant, he asked his men to capture the hill and engage the enemy from the top.
Hiroo Onoda was given clear instructions by his commander. In any case do not stop fighting. Attack on enemy if found. Under any circumstances do not surrender yourself. Wait till we come back to and give you further instructions. The instructions were clear. Onoda and three fellow soldiers with steadfast determination started to engage in guerrilla warfare.
15th August 1945.
World War 2 has ended. Japan has accepted defeat after the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Onoda along with three other Japanese soldiers have learned the neiter landscape by heart. They have laid out traps, built routes for their secret passage and supplies. Frequent gun battles and shootouts started to happen between the local police and Hiroo Onoda’s group. Hiroo Onoda believed that the police troops were the enemy soldiers who were trying to capture them. But their instructions were clear, “NO SURRENDER.”
Hiroo’s determination knew no boundaries. Shoot outs were happening regularly. If Onoda’s group were running out of ammunition they would acquire it from their enemies. Wild animals couldn’t scare them nor did the bullets from the guns. The instructions were clear, “NO SURRENDER. FIGHT TILL YOU DIE.”
September 1949
One of the three soldiers, Yuichi Akatsu, found it difficult to lead a life like this. He wanted to surrender, and suggested the same to the other three. Onoda, “ We can not surrender my friend. This is war and there is no mercy upon a soldier’s soul.” Akatsu, “ No Onoda, we have lost. I don’t want to die here. Think about our families.” Onoda, “ Yes, I am thinking about my family, but my family is not just a woman and a man who have given birth to me. My family is not just people who have the same blood as I do. My family is the entire Japan. If I have accepted defeat here, then the enemy forces will kill my family, My Japan will be killed. ” Akatsu, “ Onoda, you have gone mad. No your ego isn’t allowing you to see the truth. We can not fight. I..I can not keep up with this stupidity. I am leaving. If you wish to live and see your family come with me, the Filipinos will show us some mercy. ” Onoda, “ Tell Filipinos the same thing, Hiroo Onoda of the Imperial Japanese Army will show them some mercy if they surrender. ” Akatsu is baffled listening to Onoda’s reply. He left the group to surrender.
Year 1952
An aircraft was flying over the mountain region. Hiroo Onoda and the two other soldiers have hid themselves from the sight of the aircraft. The aircraft’s hatch opened and many letters were dropping down. The letters were scattered across the mountain area. This act was puzzling to the Japanese soldiers. What was in these letters. One of the soldier opened a letter and started to read. Tears were rolling down his eyes. Onoda saw this and picked up another letter and opened it. It was a letter written in Japanese. “ The war is over. If you surrender, we will treat you as per the peace treaty. Surrender yourselves. ” Beneath the letter, a photograph of the young Hiroo Onoda along with his family. Mother. Tears ran down Hiro's cheeks. The other two soldiers were depressed listening to the fact that they have in fact lost the war. Now it was time to surrender.
A search party equipped with ammunition have started their tracking, to eliminate the Japanese trio. Hiroo Onoda was on his knees, tears running down, not knowing what should be done. The other two soldiers were condition was much worse. Onoda, “ My brothers. ” He rose up on his feet and turned towards his fellow soldiers. Onoda, “ We have done what we can. The enemy is approaching us and we can be caught any time. We were given clear instructions to not SURRENDER under any circumstances. So we shall honor our instructions and fight. May the god of death feast upon me a thousand times, as I die for my Japan. ”
The three soldiers stood up. Tears have made a clear path visible on their murky cheeks. One of the two soldiers, Shimada, “ So shall I. ” The other soldier, Kozuka, “ If death is certain, I shall take my enemies with me. ” The search party closed on tho the Japanese trio. Hiroo and the other two soldiers heard the sound of rattling bushes and took positions to defend themselves. Gun fire. Onoda, Shimada and Kozuka started to fire into the smug that has engulfed them. A volley of bullets started to fly past the Japanese soldiers. But the search party didn’t know on basic detail. The forest is the Japanese soldier’s arena.
Onoda, Shimada and Kozuka ducked the gun firing and mounted the tree tops. Once they had the elevation, they did not miss a target. The Japanese firing was as if it was raining bullets on the search party. By the time sun rose, blood was spattered across the grass, on the leaves and tree barks. One of the search party member was alive. Severely wounded. The trio captured him. Shimada, “ Tell the Filipinos to send men to fight us. ” Search party member looked terrified. Kozuka caught hold the search party member by collar and pulled him close his face. The search party member was looking at a face engulfed with rage. He pulled out a 4 inches long knife and stabbed in the thigh of the search party member.
Kozuka, “ I am going to ask you something. If you answer wrong, I swear your wife will be the most disappointed woman. Ok. ” Kozuka removed the knife from the thigh. The search member was shivering with fear. Kozuka, “ So what was your plan of action? ” Search member, “ One of your team member surrendered and gave us your location. That’s how we spotted you. We were given clear instructions to kill you on sight. ” Onoda turned around to look at the search party member. Onoda, “ But the pamphlets said that the war was over and we were to surrender. If you wanted to capture us as per the treaty, why were you ordered to kill us. ” Search party member was trembling with fear. Kozuka moved the razor sharp edge of his knife across the search party member's throat. Shimada, “ That means, these pamphlets are fake.” Kozuka, “ Japan hasn’t lost.” Onoda, “ We need to move, the enemy has our location and would not hesitate to attack again.”
7th May 1954
Sun was rising up in the sky. Humps of grasses were moving in a pattern. Men in war paints are slowly moving, they have covered themselves with forest grass. Away from them on top of the hill, Onoda, Shimada and Kozuka were in deep sleep. Kozuka woke up. He poured water from his flask and washed his face. An animal’s roar is heard from a distant. Kozuka threw his flask aside and ran to wake up Onoda and Shimada. The search party killed a wild cat. The leader of the group was annoyed that they have given alert to the Japanese soldiers. The group started to sprint, to reach the hideout of the Japanese soldiers.
Onoda, Shimada and Kozuka equipped themselves with their weapons and started to run from their location. The search party was very fast. They reached the location only to get the glimpse of the Japanese trio running away from them. The group divided themselves into two groups, one would chase the Japanese, the other run down hill and confront the Japanese from front. Onoda and Kozuka were fast enough but Shimada, was still healing from previous injuries.
The trio was on its foot, not wasting a single moment to escape from imminent death. The search party started to fire at the Japanese trio. The sprint was at a fast pace, Shimada missed a step and fell down. Onoda and Kozuka stopped, turned around and as they were about to go for Shimada, a bullet found its mark and traveled through Shimada’s heart. Blood trickled down. His shirt was wet with blood. Even before Onoda could run to cover for Shimada, another bullet made its way into the scalp of Shimada. The lifeless body of Shimada started to collapse in front of Onoda. Onoda aimed his gun. Fired. The bullet found its mark and killed a search party member.
Kozuka caught Onoda by torso and dragged him away from the spot. A brother was lost in the service of duty. The search party now showered bullets on the Japanese duo. Kozuka and Onoda returned fire, but the tears in their eyes blocked their vision. They could hardly do anything. Kozuka and Onoda retreated from the firing zone and found a safe hideout. The death of Shimada has now made their decision to fight, more strong.
19th October 1972
Two men in their mid fifties, wearing worn out clothes and smoking tobacco were wandering around a stock house. Kozuka, “ The enemies are gathering supplies. I suspect them storing such huge quantity of rice in that stock home.” Onoda, “ I believe that the enemies are trying to bring in a huge battalion to siege this island.” Kozuka, “ What do you plan to do?” Onoda, “ Let us burn down their resources.” Kozuka went around to fetch a jute bag, Onoda found some kerosene in a small plastic bottle. Kozuka brought the jute bag and Onoda poured kerosene on the jute bag. They lighted the jute bag, and through a small opening on the wall they threw the burning jute bag into the stock house.
The flames caught the rice bags inside the stock house and burning the resources. Smoke started to raise. A beat constable near the stock house found it and alerted the police. Onoda and Kozuka ran from there, but most unfortunately, this time the police had picked up pace even though Onoda and Kozuka had a head start. The policemen were much younger than the Japanese duo. The police started to fire at Onoda who was falling behind. A bullet swept past Onoda’s ear. The jolt made Onoda to run faster. Kozuka was already two steps ahead of Onoda. Just before Onoda was about to take a turn and run into the woods, a volley of bullets were showered on him. Kozuka, turned around, grabbed Onoda’s arm and pulled him aside. The bullets meant for Onoda landed in Kozuka’s chest. Death of Kozuka baffled Onoda. But there was no time to carry his body with him. The enemies were approaching.
Kozuka body was lying there motionlessly. Onoda saw Kozuka for one last time and made a run into the woods. “Commander, when you come back for us, the entire country will be proud, for its brave sons have restored its honour. The enemy pricks tried to persuade us into believing that the war was over. But we didn’t believe it, because we know that, you will come for us when the war is over. If you haven’t come back, that means the war is still going on.”
After losing Kozuka to the local police firing, Onoda was left alone in the woods. He still kept on the fight. No matter how many times messages were left saying that the war was over way back in 1945, Onoda did not believe, because knew that his commander will come and give him further instructions. For 30 years (26 Feb 1945 9 Mar 1975), Onoda believed that the war was not over. In Spite of many messages being left for them to surrender stating that the World War 2 got over, Onoda and his men believed that if the war would have gotten over, then their commandant would come and take them away with him. They saw the local police as the Allied soldier troops. In the late 1974, when Norio Suzuki came to know about Onoda, his struggle to survive, his losses, it blew his mind. Onoda was a man who did not belong to this time. The person who gave his word might have forgotten it, but Onoda kept up his promise to defend the land.
In early 1975, the then Japanese commanding officer, called in the battalion leader of Onoda who back in the 1945 instructed Onoda to secure the location was called in. He was given temporary powers to instruct Onoda. Norio Suzuki, Onoda’s battalion commander and a couple of other Japanese government representatives went to Philippines. On 9th March 1975, Hiroo Onoda was relieved of his duties and was informed that the war was over. He was instructed to come back to Japan. On reaching Japan He was given the war hero welcome and was awarded the highest medal of honor by the government.
=================================================================
A word:
Hiroo Onoda’s story was something that made everyone think. How could one man be so deeply in love with his country that he would fight for his nation for thirty years without any known comforts. We here in India are annoyed and hesitant when our national anthem plays in movie theaters. Let us question ourselves, if required would we fight for thirty years for our country. Even when we were left for our own fate, how many of us would NOT SURRENDER?!
What is it, that we Indian youngsters can learn from Hiroo Onoda’s story?
