Do not give up under any circumstance.
— Japanese Imperial War Department
When it comes to Covid-19, I'm amazed at some Americans' lack of a grasp of the basics. It's like, as we used to say of clueless coworkers, "they didn't get the memo."
History's strangest case of missing the memo is that of Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda.
An elite member of the Japanese Imperial Army, Lieutenant Onoda was stationed in 1944 on Lubak, a tiny island in the Philippines.
When the Allies recaptured the Philippines that year, Onoda was ordered to retreat to the interior of Lubak and "harass the Allied forces until the Japanese reconquer the island.
“You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand,” the orders continued. "It may take three to five years, but we’ll come back for you, no matter what."
At home in the jungle—and willfully ignoring the Allies' leaflet-drops announcing Japan's surrender—Onoda undertook guerrilla strikes against the local Filipinos—strikes that would go on for 30 years.
In 1974, a dashing adventurer named Norio Suzuki announced that he would find the mysterious guerrilla fighter, Onoda. Suzuki indeed found him, sheltered in his hiding-place in the jungle, and persuaded the steadfast soldier that the war was over.
A month later, Suzuki returned with written orders from the Japanese government directing Onoda to cease fire and—at long last—return to his home in Japan, which he reluctantly did.
NOTE: Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of the formal surrender of Imperial Japan.
