The story of Ho Van Than and his son, the peasants who fled after their house was destroyed by a bomb during the war in Vietnam in 1975, and only now found in the jungles of the Asian country after spending more than 40 years disconnected from the world, is still shocking, but it is not new. In 1974, after spending 29 years in guerrilla activities in the Philippine jungle, surrendered the last soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army who fought in World War II.
The end of the conflict that marked the battle for control of the Pacific between Japan and the United States in 1945, Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda and two soldiers were fighting in the Philippines. After receiving pamphlets thrown by an aircraft to report the surrender of Japan and calling the soldiers to go down the mountain, Onoda ignored ensuring that these ads were a hoax prepared by the U.S.. In fact, in another initiative of the Japanese authorities, were released in the Philippines mountains photographs of relatives and letters calling for surrender, which were also ignored by the lieutenant and his two soldiers.
For years developed guerrilla activity in the region, in which wounded his two subordinates, who finally lost their lives in hiding because of gunfire. After being found by a Japanese student, who showed photographs of Onoda and said he would not give up until he received the order from his superior, the Japanese government put his immediate superior and took him to the Philippines to call for the immediate resignation of the Lieutenant.
It with that that Onoda surrendered his weapon with over 500 rounds and some hand grenades, 29 years after the end of World War II.
Months later, was located another member of the Imperial Japanese Army, Teruo Nakamura, who also remained illegal in Indonesia and surrendered in 1974. Nakamura, however, after the end of the conflict has developed a new life as a farmer and was not repatriated because their nationality was Taiwanese.
