70: The Japanese Soldier Who Refused to Surrender (Part 1)

An Old Timey Podcast

True Crime, History, Comedy

4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As a second lieutenant in the Japanese Army, Hiroo Onoda took his job seriously. He’d been ordered to lead guerilla warfare missions on Lubang Island in the Philippines. He was told to never surrender. And when he received word that World War II had ended, Hiroo was certain that the message was a trick. So, he kept fighting. He kept fighting until 1974 – nearly 29 years after the war ended.

Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from:
Allyra Crowdfunding. “Donation Page by Searching For Onoda.” https://searchingforonodadoc.allyrafundraising.com/campaigns/9769.

“Bushido and Japanese Atrocities in World War II.” Michael Fassbender, May 2, 2015. https://michaeltfassbender.com/nonfiction/the-world-wars/big-picture/bushido-and-japanese-atrocities-in-world-war-ii/.

“Domitable Myth: Three Depictions of Japanese Holdout Soldier Hiroo Onoda | International Documentary Association.” May 17, 2023. https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/domitable-myth-three-depictions-japanese-holdout-soldier-hiroo-onoda.

New York Times. “Hiroo Onoda, Soldier Who Hid in Jungle for Decades, Dies at 91” March 28, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/world/asia/hiroo-onoda-imperial-japanese-army-officer-dies-at-91.html.

Onoda, Hiroo. No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War. Naval Institute Press, 1999.

“Onoda: The Man Who Hid in the Jungle for 30 Years.” April 14, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220413-onoda-the-man-who-hid-in-the-jungle-for-30-years.

Sims, Watson. “You’re a Better Man, Hiroo.” Battle Creek Enquirer, March 17, 1974.

The Record (New Jersey). “‘I Have Done My Best,’ Japanese Holdout Says.” March 11, 1974.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hear ye, hear ye. You are listening to an old-timey podcast. I'm Norman Caruso.
0:06.8	And I'm Kristen Caruso. And on this episode, I'll be talking about a soldier who wouldn't surrender.
0:13.4	Oh, Norm. Oh, Norm. Oh, Norm. I know what this is about. I hear that every night, folks. Okay. All right, come on. Oh, norm. This is about the Japanese fellas who were over there. They didn't know the war ended. Isn't that right? Those Japanese fellows. That's right, Kristen. Yeah. Oh, take that. Yeah. You didn't like how I really don't know any details about it, but I got it.
0:40.8	I guessed it.
0:41.4	It's stored somewhere in that Noggin of yours.
0:43.5	It feels like one of those fun fact stories that I've always been like, I should learn more and I don't.
0:50.5	But I do today.
0:51.7	You will in this series.
0:54.0	Oh. Because specifically I'm talking about one soldier who refuses. but I do today. You will in this series. Oh, okay.
0:55.1	Specifically, I'm talking about one soldier who refused to surrender.
0:58.7	Okay, all right.
1:00.4	Kristen, you got a Patreon plug for us?
1:02.2	I sure do.
1:03.8	Hello, everyone.
1:05.2	Hi.
1:05.4	I'm talking to the listeners, Norm.
1:07.9	You just calm down and just think about your life for a second.
1:10.9	While I tell the people about what they should be doing with theirs, they should be heading on over to patreon.com slash old-timey podcast.
1:19.2	Why you ask, I'll tell you, honey, once you're there, you will get a monthly bonus episode.
1:26.0	You'll get a, don't smile at me like that, Norm.
1:28.3	I'm just doing my job here.
1:29.8	You'll get video of us telling you the podcast.
	...

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