275: The Soldier Who Would Not Surrender — Hiroo Onoda’s 30-Year War

Seven Deadly Sinners

Rachael O'Brien

True Crime, Exhibit C, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this chilling episode of Seven Deadly Sinners, we plunge into one of the most astonishing tales of obedience, delusion, and the deadly consequences of unshakable belief. Hiroo Onoda, an elite Japanese intelligence officer trained to never surrender, vanished into the jungles of Lubang Island during World War II… and kept fighting for three more decades after the war had ended.

As the world rebuilt, Onoda waged a private war in the shadows — stealing food, attacking villagers, and evading countless rescue attempts. Was he a loyal soldier? A brainwashed zealot? Or something far darker? We peel back the layers of an extraordinary human tragedy shaped by pride, violence, and a nation unwilling to face defeat.

Join us as we explore the psychological grip of military indoctrination, the lives lost in Onoda’s long refusal to accept reality, and the bizarre, heartbreaking moment his former commander had to travel into the jungle to tell him — finally — to stand down.

This is the story of devotion pushed to deadly extremes. And it may just be one of the most haunting “sins” we’ve ever covered.

Transcript

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0:00.0	My name is a
0:02.0	judejali
0:05.0	Oh,
0:08.0	ooh
0:10.0	ooh
0:11.0	Yeah Welcome back to another episode of Seven Deadly Sinners.
0:34.1	Thank you guys so much for listening.
0:36.3	I love you.
0:37.2	And I think you're going to be into this
0:40.4	story. This story is endlessly fascinating to me. I thought I had written it like and done it
0:49.1	justice and then as I was researching it right before recording, I just kept finding out more and more puzzle pieces.
0:58.1	I even called my nanny, grandma, who grew up during this time and asked her if she knew about a certain part of this story that you'll hear about.
1:10.2	And she didn't even know. So let's dive in
1:14.6	okay to this fascinating, fascinating story. There are two kinds of people.
1:34.2	After an injury, one type considers what he can do not to get hurt again, but he still goes back to fight.
1:43.8	The other type gets scared,
1:46.3	quits the battle,
1:47.7	and forever blame somebody for the injury.
1:51.0	If you want to stay alive,
1:53.1	you must keep moving,
1:55.2	and you had better do it at full steam.
2:03.6	This at full steam. This is the story of Hero Onada,
	...

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