Summary

In 1944, at the end of World War Two, the Japanese government deployed soldiers to the Philippines with orders never to surrender. There, they fought in the jungle with guerrilla tactics until the end of the war. However, many soldiers refused to believe that the war had ended, thinking the news was a hoax to lure them out of their positions, and continued to wage guerrilla warfare against the local population for decades. It wasn't until 1972 that a lone adventurer was able to find the last remaining Japanese soldier, Hiroo Onoda, in the Philippine jungle and convince him that the war was in fact over. When asked why he continued to stay and fight, the soldier replied that he was following his orders to "never surrender" (67). Back in Japan, confronted with the many changes to Japanese life and culture that had occurred since the war...