Hiroo Onoda – A Man who Refused to make New Decisions when he Heard New Information

I first came across the concept of new data or information means new decisions in one of Gary Vaynerchuk’s quotes. Then I was reading Mark Manson’s book, “The subtle art of not giving * ****”. In the fourth chapter titled ‘The Value of Suffering’, a similar concept was discussed with an example of a man named Hiroo Onoda. Hiroo's story goes like this.

It was the end times of World War II and U.S. forces were quickly taking over all Japan occupied territories. On December 26, 1944, Hiroo Onoda, a Second Lieutenant, was sent by Japan to the small Island of Lubang in the Philippines. He got orders to fight at all costs and to never surrender to the U.S. troops.  

Young Hiroo Onoda

In February 1945, The U.S. troops captured Lubang. Most of the Japanese soldiers either surrendered to the U S or were killed. But Hiroo Onada managed to escape into the jungles along with three other soldiers. From the hideout, they engaged in guerrilla warfare against the U.S forces and the locals. They attacked supply lines and shot American soldiers.

In August 1945, USA bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered, and the deadly World War II came to an end. But the Japanese troops scattered across the different Pacific islands were not aware of this. So, the U.S. military, after discussing with the Japanese Government, dropped plenty of leaflets in the war areas telling that the World War II was over and the troops can return to their native countries.

Hiroo Onoda also got the leaflets. But he refused to listen to the new information. He thought it was a ploy of the U.S. troops to bring him out and stop his guerilla warfare. So, Hiroo burnt the leaflets. He and his men stayed hidden and fought. 

Five years went by. The leaflets stopped. And most of the U S soldiers had returned home. But Hiroo Onoda and his men still attacked the locals, destroyed their crops, and murdered locals who wandered too deep into the jungle. The Philippines government sent out flyers telling the war was over. But, they were also ignored by Hiroo Onoda. He was still in hiding and still obeyed the command of never surrender.

In 1952, the Japanese Government made one final effort. They dropped letters from families, and family photos of missing soldiers, with a personal note by the Japanese Emperor in the islands. Onoda still believed it was a trick of the Americans.

Overtime, Onoda lost all his companions to shootouts or surrender. Onoda still continued in the jungles well over a quarter century after the end of World War II.

In 1972, the Japanese and Philippine governments sent search parties to locate Onoda who was now part hero, part myth, and part ghost. They could not locate him.

In the same year, an adventurer named Norio Suzuki heard about Onoda. He was intrigued and went in search of Onoda and found him in four days. Onoda trusted the hippie Suzuki and the two became friends. With information from Suzuki, the Japanese Commander of Onoda met him in the jungle and asked him to stop fighting and return to Japan. Onoda then went to Japan. When people later asked him why he came back so late, he said I was just obeying the never surrender command.

When Hiroo finally moved out of the jungle

Onoda refused to listen to new data and new information for almost thirty years. He was fighting a meaningless war that was not needed and stayed away from his family and country for 30 years. His suffering was meaningless. All this was because Onoda did not change his stance or idea, even though he got the news of the end of War several times in several ways. Onoda did not listen to new data and new information. He did not change his decisions based on new data and information.

We all would have been Hiroo Onoda’s at some point in our lives. The situations and people may have been different. We cling to outdated data and scenarios due to emotions, traditions, ego, beliefs, inertia, stubbornness, mere foolishness, and several other factors.

The very recent example is how few people still refuse to wear masks and maintain social distancing even after knowing that it will save them from Corona. So, please make new decisions and take relevant actions when you hear new data or information. It is a note to myself too :)

Note: Hiroo Onoda later wrote a book titled “No Surrender – My Thirty Years War”. To view a popular short film about him, click here.