Japanese Soldiers in the Pacific Theater

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Hiro Onada after being found in 1974 on Lubang Island

Hiroo Onoda

Born March 1922 in Kainan, Japan 

He was sent to Lubang Island at age 23 on December 26th, 1944. He did not surrender for many years until he was found in 1974.

He would write about his wartime experiences and living in a Japanese holdout for 29 years. His work is published as, "No Surrender: My Thirty Year War".

He moved to Brazil to raise cattle following the publication. He was married in Japan in his elderly years and ran a nature camp for kids. 

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Tadamichi Kurabayashi WWII portrait

Tadamichi Kuribayashi 

Born: July 7th, 1891 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan

He was the fifth generation of the Kirubayashi family. They served as samurai during the reigns of six emperors. Tadamichi was Caanadian -educated. He wrote his wife, "the United States is the last country in the world Japan should fight".

In 1944, Kuribayashi was handpicked by Emperor Showa and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo to defend the island of Iwo Jima. 

He committed Seppuku, which was ritual suicide, after being surrounded by U.S. troops. His body was never found. Kuribayashi would be remembered and honored in memorials decades after his passing. 

Soldiers in the Pacific Theater
Japanese Soldiers in the Pacific Theater