1. Japan’s Longest Holdout Died Unappreciated and In Poverty
Teruo Nakamura, had not been a member of the Imperial Japanese Army, but of a colonial unit. Under Japanese law, that meant he was not entitled to back pay or a pension or any of the benefits afforded IJA soldiers. While Hiroo Onoda had been awarded about U$160,000 by Japan, equivalent to nearly U$900,000 in 2018 dollars, Nakamura was awarded only U$227 – equivalent to about U$1250 in 2018 – for his three-decades-long holdout in service to Japan. Teuro Nakamura returned to Taiwan, where he died of lung cancer five years later, in 1979.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
Guardian, The, May 28th, 2005 – 60 Years After the War Ends, Two Soldiers Emerge From the Jungle
YourStory –This soldier kept fighting WWII 29 years after it ended
How Stuff Works – Japanese Holdouts
Mike Dash History – Final Straggler: The Japanese Soldier Who Outlasted Hiroo Onoda
Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 10th, 2014 – Hiroo Onoda: Hero, or Villain?
BBC News, 17 January 2014 – Japan WW2 soldier who refused to surrender Hiroo Onoda
Warfare History Network – Operation Removal: Taking the Japanese Holdouts Near Saipan