舊陸軍少尉小野田寛郎逝世

Yesterday the Asahi News on-line reported the following:

元陸軍少尉の小野田寛郎さん死去　ルバング島から帰還

2014年1月17日09時37分

　フィリピン・ルバング島のジャングルで、太平洋戦争終了後も２９年間、潜伏し、生還した元陸軍少尉の小野田寛郎（ひろお）さん（９１）が１６日午後４時２９分、東京都内の病院で死去した。６日から肺炎のため入院していたという。葬儀は未定で、親族による密葬を予定している。

　１９２２年３月、和歌山県の旧内海町（現・海南市名高）に生まれた。４４年に陸軍中野学校二俣分校に入り、ゲリラ戦や情報戦を学んだ後、ルバング島に派遣された。戦争終了を信じずゲリラ戦を継続し、７４年に日本に戻った。

(試譯文)

   Mr. Onoda Hiroo (91), the former army second lieutenant who after the end of the Pacific War hid out for 29 years in the jungles in Lubang Islands of the Philippines and came back alive, died in the hospital in Tokyo at 4:29 p.m. on the 16th. It was said that he was hospitalized for suffering from pneumonia since the 6th. The funeral was not yet finalized and an informal funeral was being planned by the relatives.

   Onoda was born in the old Utsumi-district (now the Nataka, Kainan city) in Wakayama Prefecture in March 1922. After entering the Nakano army school - Futamata branch in 1944 to study guerrilla and information warfare, he was dispatched to the Lubang Islands. He did not believe that the war was over and continued with the fighting in the jungle until he returned to Japan in 1974.

My understanding is that in late 1944 Onoda was given orders by Major Yoshimi Taniguchi and Major Takahashi to lead the Lubang Garrison in guerrilla warfare. He was told that “whatever happens, we'll come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him”. Onoda took these words more literally and seriously than his division commanders could ever hope for.