The War is Over

By Jeromy Johnson,

The War is Over.

That is what the leaflets dropped over the Philippines by the U.S. after WWII read. The War is Over. In other words, we, as the United States of America, were saying: We are no longer trying to kill you. As far as we are concerned, you are no longer our enemy.

But there were some who heard and read this good news and did not believe it. They thought these leaflets were lies and propaganda from the enemy. These people were known as “holdouts.” They hid in the Philippines believing that the U.S. and her allies were still fighting against them. They believed they were still at war with an enemy that, in truth, had declared peace on December 31, 1946.

One of these Japanese Solider Holdouts was named Onoda. He was the lone survivor of a group of four other holdouts. In fact, 14 years after the war ended he was (incorrectly) declared legally dead in Japan. But in 1974 he realized, through a series of circumstances, that the war was over:

“On March 9, 1974, intelligence Officer 2nd Lt. Hiroo Onoda emerged from the jungle of Lubang Island with his .25 caliber rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition and several hand grenades. He surrendered 29 years after Japan’s formal surrender. When he accepted that the war was over, he wept openly.” (read more)

Did you catch that? After he accepted — or believed — that the war was over, he wept openly.

The statement to Onoda was not, “The war is over IF you believe it.” The statement was, “The war is over, DO you believe it?” The war was over. Period.

But for 29 years he continued to hide and clutch his weapons and ration his ammo and clean his grenades. His belief that the war was still going on caused him to act accordingly.

A lot of us do the same thing. (read more here)