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No Surrender
In the Spring of 1974, 2nd Lt. Hiroo Onoda of the Japanese army made world headlines when he emerged from the Philippine jungle after a thirty-year ordeal. Hunted in turn by American troops, the Philippine army and police, hostile islanders, and eventually successive Japanese search parties, Onoda had skillfully outmaneuvered all his pursuers, convinced that World War II was still being fought and waiting for the day when his fellow soldiers would return victorious.
This first-person account of those years of evading capture and trying to stay alive is filled with drama, tension, and excitement. Readers learn about Onoda's early life, his training as an intelligence officer, and his final assignment to the Philippine island of Lubang. When American forces take over the island, he retreats into the mountains and life becomes a constant battle against the elements as well as the enemy.
The description of his selfless dedication to a cause allows us a rare glimpse of the invincible spirit of the human being, and his ingenuity in adapting to primitive surroundings is a commentary on man's resourcefulness. Even after the Japanese forces surrender or are killed, courage and conviction allow him and his few comrades to continue until he alone returns to civilization.
A soldier who fought and survived the war's longest, loneliest battle, Onoda became a hero to his people and his account of events, first published in Japan in 1974 and in English in 1975, has enjoyed an approving audience ever since.
This first-person account of those years of evading capture and trying to stay alive is filled with drama, tension, and excitement. Readers learn about Onoda's early life, his training as an intelligence officer, and his final assignment to the Philippine island of Lubang. When American forces take over the island, he retreats into the mountains and life becomes a constant battle against the elements as well as the enemy.
The description of his selfless dedication to a cause allows us a rare glimpse of the invincible spirit of the human being, and his ingenuity in adapting to primitive surroundings is a commentary on man's resourcefulness. Even after the Japanese forces surrender or are killed, courage and conviction allow him and his few comrades to continue until he alone returns to civilization.
A soldier who fought and survived the war's longest, loneliest battle, Onoda became a hero to his people and his account of events, first published in Japan in 1974 and in English in 1975, has enjoyed an approving audience ever since.
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First published January 1, 1974
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About the author
Hiroo Onoda
14 books20 followersSecond Lieutenant and intelligence officer of the Japanse army.
Onoda was one of the last Japanese soldiers to surrender in world war II which he did in 1974.
After his surrender Hiroo Onoda got disappointed by the loss of Japanese traditional values. In 1976 he moved to Brazil were he raised Cattle.
In 1984 he went back to Japan and founded the Onoda Nature School.
Onoda was one of the last Japanese soldiers to surrender in world war II which he did in 1974.
After his surrender Hiroo Onoda got disappointed by the loss of Japanese traditional values. In 1976 he moved to Brazil were he raised Cattle.
In 1984 he went back to Japan and founded the Onoda Nature School.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
August 2, 2015
I read this in one sitting, I couldn't put it down.
Five stars because of how crazy it sounds, it sounds like fiction, and the thing is, he wasn't unique, others like him also held out for years. I didn't know what to feel, I felt pity, I felt awe (perhaps a strong word?) and I also found myself feeling frustrated. How can someone be so fanatically deluded? With all the leaflets, radio broadcasts, search parties, how can you still believe it's all a plot by the enemy?
Amazing read. I believe he died last year or the year before, what a man.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jueo8tI0y2k
Five stars because of how crazy it sounds, it sounds like fiction, and the thing is, he wasn't unique, others like him also held out for years. I didn't know what to feel, I felt pity, I felt awe (perhaps a strong word?) and I also found myself feeling frustrated. How can someone be so fanatically deluded? With all the leaflets, radio broadcasts, search parties, how can you still believe it's all a plot by the enemy?
Amazing read. I believe he died last year or the year before, what a man.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jueo8tI0y2k
July 13, 2022
full post is here
http://www.nonfictionrealstuff.com/20...
I bought this book last year when I read that Werner Herzog had written a novel based on the strange story of Hiroo Onoda, author of this memoir and a soldier in the Japanese Army during World War II. I've now read both books -- this one and Herzog's The Twilight World, and I've watched the film Onoda: 10,000 Nights in The Jungle which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Evidently I couldn't get enough of this man's story -- it seems that indeed, sometimes truth is even stranger than fiction.
Onoda had been trained in "secret warfare" or guerrilla tactics, and was assigned to Lubang Island in December of 1944, to "lead the Lubang Garrison in guerrilla warfare." The objective: "to hamper the enemy attack on Luzon." Onoda was directed to destroy both the airfield and the pier at the island's harbor; he was further tasked with destroying enemy planes and killing the crews "should the enemy land" there. His final orders, however, were that he was "forbidden" to kill himself:
" It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens we'll come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him. You may have to live on coconuts. If that's the case, live on coconuts! Under no circumstances are you to give up your life voluntarily."
The situation on the island, for many reasons, started to go south almost immediately; Onoda couldn't convince anyone of the need for guerrilla warfare and even worse, when the Americans came to Lubang, they captured the airfield Onoda had been ordered to destroy. Fast forward to October of 1945, when Onoda received word via a piece of paper on which, written in Japanese, was a statement that "The war ended on August 15," and that the Japanese soldiers should "come down from the mountains." Onoda believed none of it, thinking it was an enemy ploy, and later at the end of the year, leaflets were dropped from a B-17 that offered the surrender order from General Yamashita as well as a directive from the chief of staff. Once again he refused to believe what he was reading, deciding that these were "phony." These messages continued, and in every instance Onoda decided that it was the work of the enemy, that they were being tricked via propaganda into surrendering. By the time his band of soldiers came down to just his comrade Kozuka and himself, Onoda says that they had "developed so many fixed ideas" that they were "unable to understand anything that did not conform to them." He stood firm in his tenacity and his commitment, not just to his mission but also to his firm belief that there was absolutely no way that Japan could have lost the war, let alone that his country's government had surrendered.
It would only be after he was the only soldier left standing, and was on board the helicopter that would take him home in 1974 that he would finally question his time in Lubang, asking "Who had I been fighting for? What was the cause?"
As so many readers have been quick to point out, No Surrender says nothing about the crimes the Japanese on Lubang perpetrated against the people who lived there, all of which were blanket pardoned by then President Marcos. There is, however, a new documentary made by Mia Stewart whose family lived on Lubang during that time in which she addresses that issue.
I had a lot of trouble putting it down once started and every time a new announcement would come for Onoda about the war being over, I was just floored by his logic as to why he refused to give up. I would definitely recommend reading No Surrender if you are planning to read Herzog's book or if you're thinking about watching the film based on his book just so you have some background. However you choose to view Onoda in light of the criticisms against him, the book still makes for great reading, and it's one I definitely recommend if you're looking for something well out of the ordinary.
http://www.nonfictionrealstuff.com/20...
I bought this book last year when I read that Werner Herzog had written a novel based on the strange story of Hiroo Onoda, author of this memoir and a soldier in the Japanese Army during World War II. I've now read both books -- this one and Herzog's The Twilight World, and I've watched the film Onoda: 10,000 Nights in The Jungle which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Evidently I couldn't get enough of this man's story -- it seems that indeed, sometimes truth is even stranger than fiction.
Onoda had been trained in "secret warfare" or guerrilla tactics, and was assigned to Lubang Island in December of 1944, to "lead the Lubang Garrison in guerrilla warfare." The objective: "to hamper the enemy attack on Luzon." Onoda was directed to destroy both the airfield and the pier at the island's harbor; he was further tasked with destroying enemy planes and killing the crews "should the enemy land" there. His final orders, however, were that he was "forbidden" to kill himself:
" It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens we'll come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him. You may have to live on coconuts. If that's the case, live on coconuts! Under no circumstances are you to give up your life voluntarily."
The situation on the island, for many reasons, started to go south almost immediately; Onoda couldn't convince anyone of the need for guerrilla warfare and even worse, when the Americans came to Lubang, they captured the airfield Onoda had been ordered to destroy. Fast forward to October of 1945, when Onoda received word via a piece of paper on which, written in Japanese, was a statement that "The war ended on August 15," and that the Japanese soldiers should "come down from the mountains." Onoda believed none of it, thinking it was an enemy ploy, and later at the end of the year, leaflets were dropped from a B-17 that offered the surrender order from General Yamashita as well as a directive from the chief of staff. Once again he refused to believe what he was reading, deciding that these were "phony." These messages continued, and in every instance Onoda decided that it was the work of the enemy, that they were being tricked via propaganda into surrendering. By the time his band of soldiers came down to just his comrade Kozuka and himself, Onoda says that they had "developed so many fixed ideas" that they were "unable to understand anything that did not conform to them." He stood firm in his tenacity and his commitment, not just to his mission but also to his firm belief that there was absolutely no way that Japan could have lost the war, let alone that his country's government had surrendered.
It would only be after he was the only soldier left standing, and was on board the helicopter that would take him home in 1974 that he would finally question his time in Lubang, asking "Who had I been fighting for? What was the cause?"
As so many readers have been quick to point out, No Surrender says nothing about the crimes the Japanese on Lubang perpetrated against the people who lived there, all of which were blanket pardoned by then President Marcos. There is, however, a new documentary made by Mia Stewart whose family lived on Lubang during that time in which she addresses that issue.
I had a lot of trouble putting it down once started and every time a new announcement would come for Onoda about the war being over, I was just floored by his logic as to why he refused to give up. I would definitely recommend reading No Surrender if you are planning to read Herzog's book or if you're thinking about watching the film based on his book just so you have some background. However you choose to view Onoda in light of the criticisms against him, the book still makes for great reading, and it's one I definitely recommend if you're looking for something well out of the ordinary.
October 10, 2021
This is the memoir of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines during World War II and held out there for the next thirty years in the belief that the war was still ongoing.
When Japan began its rescue missions for their holdout soldiers several years after the war, Onoda thought of these efforts as mere American propaganda and evaded contact. He continued to do his war duties even after his comrades’ death, “surrendering” only in 1974 after he was finally served an order of dismissal by his former commanding officer. Hiroo Onoda was one of Japan’s last World War II holdout soldiers.
This book offers an interesting insight into his passion for his duty, which is an act of honor to his Emperor and country. Even when he was initially conflicted by the big difference between guerrilla warfare (to which he was assigned) and their usual open combat that embraces the Bushido Code, he had accepted his task without reservation. He was astute, diligent, and adaptive—cunning, too, which helped reinforce his jungle survival skills. I think a big percentage of his survival had to do with the abundance of food and water in Lubang forests, and the other essentials he and his comrades had procured (or pilfered, to be frank) from the lowland residents. That, and his strong commitment to stand fast to his soldierly duties against all odds.
I first heard about Onoda from a brief discussion in History class, and later on, from a local TV documentary. While he became some sort of a wartime hero and celebrity in his own hometown, I don’t think he got the same worship treatment here, especially in Lubang where there were numerous complaints of the atrocities he had committed against unarmed civilians during his holdout years. He did not mention this in his book.
When Japan began its rescue missions for their holdout soldiers several years after the war, Onoda thought of these efforts as mere American propaganda and evaded contact. He continued to do his war duties even after his comrades’ death, “surrendering” only in 1974 after he was finally served an order of dismissal by his former commanding officer. Hiroo Onoda was one of Japan’s last World War II holdout soldiers.
This book offers an interesting insight into his passion for his duty, which is an act of honor to his Emperor and country. Even when he was initially conflicted by the big difference between guerrilla warfare (to which he was assigned) and their usual open combat that embraces the Bushido Code, he had accepted his task without reservation. He was astute, diligent, and adaptive—cunning, too, which helped reinforce his jungle survival skills. I think a big percentage of his survival had to do with the abundance of food and water in Lubang forests, and the other essentials he and his comrades had procured (or pilfered, to be frank) from the lowland residents. That, and his strong commitment to stand fast to his soldierly duties against all odds.
I first heard about Onoda from a brief discussion in History class, and later on, from a local TV documentary. While he became some sort of a wartime hero and celebrity in his own hometown, I don’t think he got the same worship treatment here, especially in Lubang where there were numerous complaints of the atrocities he had committed against unarmed civilians during his holdout years. He did not mention this in his book.
March 22, 2012
This book was a random find of my brother's in a random antique shop's book sale. I read it on the flight home and I could not stop dreaming of the jungle for days afterward. I've been interested in WWII since I was a small child, visiting museums and such, but often reading books concerned more with the vast strategic overview of the war...so naturally my familiarity with first-hand accounts was very low. THIS is the book that will explain the near-insane loyalty and tenacity of the individual Japanese soldier during the war. This book reminds me of a young adult style survival story in the way of The Hatchet or My Side of the Mountain, the kind that many American children routinely consume in middle school, except for the socio-political background which brings the entire affair to insane-o-ville. I find that I really respect Onoda. His story delves deeply into the mental state of a survivalist-warrior. Required reading for those who like the topic of guerrilla warfare, state-sponsored social engineering, or pure blood-and-guts stoies of naked determination. This is what nationalism, intelligence, and pure chutzpah can result in. Damn.
October 20, 2008
Onoda's story is well known and his book documents the events in straightforward fashion. It's a good read, but where the (western) reader will feel short-changed is in the lack of an adequate explanation of how Japanese military discipline produced such a warped result. The strange and vain efforts of the Japanese government to bring Onoda out of the jungle will also leave readers scratching their heads. Still, it's a terrific tale that gives some insight into a culture that remains a mystery - and I speak as someone who lived in Tokyo for three years.
September 2, 2016
What a strange, strange story. Onoda was trained in guerilla warfare by the Japanese army and had been sent to a small island in the Philippines to fight the war against the Americans. Unusual for Japanese soldiers, he had been explicitly forbidden from committing suicide and had been allowed to be captured. His orders were to cause mayhem until the Japanese army would sent explicit orders or would come to pick him up. That never happened, so he stayed for 30 years until a student found him in 1974.
The book becomes most interesting when he describes his mental acrobatics to keep on fighting - other Japanese often came looking for him, dropped leaflets on the island, called for him via speakers, but he always found some minor mistake or flaw to convince him that these people were impostors sent by the enemy to trap him. Newspapers saying that the war was lost with pictures of Japanese in their cities were obvious fakes - if Japan had lost, all Japanese people, including children and women, would have died fighting! It didn't really help either that the Philippine army used the island to train bombing runs (genius idea - train where you know that there are still guerillas hiding) - what would you think if you were stuck in an imagined war, but the planes dropping bombs were real?
He never got the official order to stand down, so he never stopped fighting, which he did by terrorizing the poor islanders, burning their rice, shooting at them, stealing from them.
Sadly, the autobiography is slightly insincere. Onoda describes shooting in the general direction of people and never mentions whether he actually hit someone, but Wikipedia says he killed several islanders.
Onoda died just 5 months ago. This book seems to have been forgotten since it came out in the 70s - I got it for a dollar at the Lifeline bookfest.
Recommended for: 1) People who are into survivor manuals. Want to know how to store ammunition in the jungle? Collect the bullets in a glass bottle, put coconut oil on the bullet to prevent rusting, close the bottle with a steel cap to prevent rats from eating the coconut oil! You're welcome! (The book has helpful drawings too)
2) People interested in reading about how your psychology can bend your reality
The book becomes most interesting when he describes his mental acrobatics to keep on fighting - other Japanese often came looking for him, dropped leaflets on the island, called for him via speakers, but he always found some minor mistake or flaw to convince him that these people were impostors sent by the enemy to trap him. Newspapers saying that the war was lost with pictures of Japanese in their cities were obvious fakes - if Japan had lost, all Japanese people, including children and women, would have died fighting! It didn't really help either that the Philippine army used the island to train bombing runs (genius idea - train where you know that there are still guerillas hiding) - what would you think if you were stuck in an imagined war, but the planes dropping bombs were real?
He never got the official order to stand down, so he never stopped fighting, which he did by terrorizing the poor islanders, burning their rice, shooting at them, stealing from them.
Sadly, the autobiography is slightly insincere. Onoda describes shooting in the general direction of people and never mentions whether he actually hit someone, but Wikipedia says he killed several islanders.
Onoda died just 5 months ago. This book seems to have been forgotten since it came out in the 70s - I got it for a dollar at the Lifeline bookfest.
Recommended for: 1) People who are into survivor manuals. Want to know how to store ammunition in the jungle? Collect the bullets in a glass bottle, put coconut oil on the bullet to prevent rusting, close the bottle with a steel cap to prevent rats from eating the coconut oil! You're welcome! (The book has helpful drawings too)
2) People interested in reading about how your psychology can bend your reality
December 10, 2022
"Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda was officially declared dead in December, 1959..."
Oh boy... Almost 30 years hiding out in the jungle. Talk about commitment... No Surrender was a somewhat interesting telling of a mind-boggling story.
Author Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo, 19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who fought in World War II and was a Japanese holdout who did not surrender at the war's end in August 1945. After the war ended, Onoda spent 29 years hiding in the Philippines until his former commander travelled from Japan to formally relieve him from duty by order of Emperor Shōwa in 1974. He held the rank of second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the second to last Japanese soldier to surrender, with Teruo Nakamura surrendering later in 1974.
Hiroo Onoda:
The book opens with a decent foreword, by translator Charles Terry, who drops the quote above.
There is quite a lot of background info provided here, and much of Onoda's early life is discussed.
The author does not get into his seclusion until around page 65.
The quote above continues:
Onoda was trained for guerilla warfare, and contrary to most of the rest of Imperial Japan's Army; was instructed not to take his own life if defeated. Rather, he should be allowed to be taken prisoner, in an effort to gain intelligence of the enemy.
The writing in the book carries on; with the author detailing that many leaflets were airdropped urging the men to surrender. Onoda thought these were all faked. The book also details some other senior Japanese military officials who would visit the island and broadcast orders for the men to surrender over loudspeakers. Onoda also thought these orders were a ploy as well. (Jesus...)
The rogue band of hideaways that Onoda was part of hid from the locals, and anyone else who endeavoured to lure them out of the jungle. They didn't stay in the same place for too long, and sustained themselves by trapping rats, eating bananas, and shooting the occasional cow and smoking the meat. They also oiled their guns with palm oil, and stashed their ammo to prevent it from corroding.
The book even details how the Japanese brought Onoda's brother to the jungle, to sing a familiar childhood song to him, in a further effort to coax him out of the jungle. Onoda thought that the enemy had somehow found and trained an imposter that resembled his brother; as part of an elaborate ruse. And I'm sorry (not sorry) to report that this part of the book had me actually chuckle out loud. Good God, man...
The saga of the men gets more ridiculous as the book progresses... In 1965 (20 years later), they manage to commandeer a radio and some batteries. They listened intently to many broadcasts and concluded that any mentions of the current state of politics were also just another piece of the elaborate propaganda ruse; designed to demoralize and/or trap them.
Delving firmly into the realm of the absurd; as Onoda is finally the last remaining soldier left hiding in the Philippine jungle, he hears both his brother and his sister make appeals to him to come out of hiding over a loudspeaker. Somehow, he still decides to remain hidden, and stick to his mission plan, not trusting that the war was actually over...
Food, weather and clothing :
Onoda finally emerges from the jungle :
Hiroo Onoda (right) offers his military sword to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (left) on the day of his surrender, 11 March 1974:
Finally (and mainly for my own future reference), I'm including a short bit of text taken from Onoda's Wikipedia page, that summarizes his ordeal. I've covered it with a spoiler for those not interested:
**********************
No Surrender was an interesting book, but I found the writing a bit dry more often than not. This could possibly (if not probably) be attributed to a culture/language barrier, as the original text was written in Japanese.
4 stars.
Oh boy... Almost 30 years hiding out in the jungle. Talk about commitment... No Surrender was a somewhat interesting telling of a mind-boggling story.
Author Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo, 19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who fought in World War II and was a Japanese holdout who did not surrender at the war's end in August 1945. After the war ended, Onoda spent 29 years hiding in the Philippines until his former commander travelled from Japan to formally relieve him from duty by order of Emperor Shōwa in 1974. He held the rank of second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the second to last Japanese soldier to surrender, with Teruo Nakamura surrendering later in 1974.
Hiroo Onoda:
The book opens with a decent foreword, by translator Charles Terry, who drops the quote above.
There is quite a lot of background info provided here, and much of Onoda's early life is discussed.
The author does not get into his seclusion until around page 65.
The quote above continues:
"...At the time it was thought that he and his comrade Kinshichi Kozuka had died of wounds sustained five years earlier in a skirmish with Philippine troops. A six-month search organized by the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare in early 1959 had uncovered no trace of the two men.
Then, in 1972 Onoda and Kozuka surfaced, and Kozuka was killed in an encounter with Philippine police. In the following half year, three Japanese search parties attempted to persuade Onoda to come out of the jungle, but the only response they received was a thank-you note for some gifts they left. This at least established that he was alive. Owing partly to his reluctance to appear, he became something of a legend in Japan..."
Onoda was trained for guerilla warfare, and contrary to most of the rest of Imperial Japan's Army; was instructed not to take his own life if defeated. Rather, he should be allowed to be taken prisoner, in an effort to gain intelligence of the enemy.
The writing in the book carries on; with the author detailing that many leaflets were airdropped urging the men to surrender. Onoda thought these were all faked. The book also details some other senior Japanese military officials who would visit the island and broadcast orders for the men to surrender over loudspeakers. Onoda also thought these orders were a ploy as well. (Jesus...)
The rogue band of hideaways that Onoda was part of hid from the locals, and anyone else who endeavoured to lure them out of the jungle. They didn't stay in the same place for too long, and sustained themselves by trapping rats, eating bananas, and shooting the occasional cow and smoking the meat. They also oiled their guns with palm oil, and stashed their ammo to prevent it from corroding.
The book even details how the Japanese brought Onoda's brother to the jungle, to sing a familiar childhood song to him, in a further effort to coax him out of the jungle. Onoda thought that the enemy had somehow found and trained an imposter that resembled his brother; as part of an elaborate ruse. And I'm sorry (not sorry) to report that this part of the book had me actually chuckle out loud. Good God, man...
The saga of the men gets more ridiculous as the book progresses... In 1965 (20 years later), they manage to commandeer a radio and some batteries. They listened intently to many broadcasts and concluded that any mentions of the current state of politics were also just another piece of the elaborate propaganda ruse; designed to demoralize and/or trap them.
Delving firmly into the realm of the absurd; as Onoda is finally the last remaining soldier left hiding in the Philippine jungle, he hears both his brother and his sister make appeals to him to come out of hiding over a loudspeaker. Somehow, he still decides to remain hidden, and stick to his mission plan, not trusting that the war was actually over...
Food, weather and clothing :
Onoda finally emerges from the jungle :
Hiroo Onoda (right) offers his military sword to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos (left) on the day of his surrender, 11 March 1974:
Finally (and mainly for my own future reference), I'm including a short bit of text taken from Onoda's Wikipedia page, that summarizes his ordeal. I've covered it with a spoiler for those not interested:
**********************
No Surrender was an interesting book, but I found the writing a bit dry more often than not. This could possibly (if not probably) be attributed to a culture/language barrier, as the original text was written in Japanese.
4 stars.
April 15, 2014
I just finished reading this book about Lt. Hiroo Onoda's 30 year odyssey as a WWII Japanese military officer hold-out on the Island of Lubang in the Philippine Islands. In fact, I was in the U.S. Navy at the time of his final surrender in 1974 and was stationed in Misawa, Japan myself. I directly remember when this happened and I was amazed that there were still holdout soldiers from WWII hiding in the jungles. It made me wonder, at the time, how many other straggler Japanese soldiers there might be from Borneo to Malaysia and all the other islands in the Pacific that might still be holding out like this soldier did...maybe they died from disease, accident or sickness in the ensuing years after Japan's surrender in August, 1945, never knowing that they should come out of hiding to surrender. First of all, I have to say, that I deeply admire this man and his absolute conviction to carry out his orders - no matter what army or ideology such a soldier or military man serves or adheres to, I believe we must respect and honor his loyalty, bravery, absolute commitment to his duty and his country. He went beyond and above the call of duty. As a fellow military man myself, and as an American, I salute Lt. Onoda because he demonstrated the highest caliber of the meaning of "duty" itself as well as being an outstanding officer of his country's military. I do not know if he ever received any official honors for his enduring duty, if he was ever recompensed by Japan for 30 years in the jungles or if the Japanese Government ever took the time to promote him (albeit, after the fact), which I believe they should have done when he returned to Japan in 1974. I lost track of this incident in the following years but never forgot about it. And now, in 2014 I finally get to read his personal story on the matter. Mr. Onoda finally passed away this year in January, 2014 at the age of 91 years old! I came to read his book not only because I had personally experienced this surrender in 1974 while stationed in Japan, but because I have relatives myself who are Japanese (by marriage through my siblings) and it has always seemed that I have had Japanese somewhere in my life associations (my best friend as a child was Japanese-American). I believe that I have, through life experiences, come to at least know something of the Japanese Culture and the mentality, habits, drives and thinking of the Japanese People. In my studies of WWII, I have often wanted to know, "what were the Japanese thinking?" I wanted to hear "the other side of the story" from fighting men - I wanted to know the personal thoughts, drives and motives that made the Japanese a fierce military fighting machine. I realize that in EVERY war, the goal of governments is to dehumanize the enemy - even more so, if the enemy is the one who started the conflict. Yet, we must ALL remember...the Japanese are not just a product of their culture and traditions but they TOO, are human beings. And while their culture might demand of them Bushido thinking, under all the layers of culture, lies a human being who has all the needs that we do - the need for safety, food, shelter, respect, dignity, equity and most of all, love. When we go to war we know we have to kill an enemy in compliance with our orders and our duty to our own country, regardless - and if we think we are killing an enemy and not a human being, it makes it easier to carry out that duty. Lt. Onoda was a human being, ONE OF US, in the human race. But he was also a product of his culture and his times. What clearly comes through all the pages of his book is that he was thoroughly and completely dedicated to his duty right on up to the day he surrendered in 1974. In this regard, we can completely understand the terrible difficulties we faced in WWII against hundreds of thousands of like-minded Japanese soldiers...anyone who reads this book can then better understand what American and other allied troops faced in battles like Guadalcanal, Saipan, Iwo Jima, Guam, Okinawa or in the Philippines. This book not only reveals the determination of the common Japanese soldier, but reflects the mind of the Japanese People, then AND today as well. This book reads like a Robinson Caruso rendition, the day-to-day struggle to survive in the jungles, alone, without any contact from friendly outsiders that one could trust. Yes, several search parties and many other attempts were made to convince the three main hold-outs to come out and surrender - but in reading the book, we can understand why they refused. Lt. Onoda's orders commanded him to hold out, as a secret intelligence gathering soldier...and as Lt. Onoda admits many times in the book, it was easy, to twist evidence to their own narrow and tiny boxed-in thinking, mainly because they refused to hear facts or recognize the truths presented to them multiple times in multiple ways to convince them to surrender. I suggest that anyone who considers themselves to be a war historian or anyone who has any interest in WWII in the Pacific, to read this book carefully and slowly and to follow it in reference to battles, tactics and underlying thinking of "What were the Japanese thinking." I recommend this book highly to anyone who has the slightest intention of ever understanding the Japanese mind, especially, the Japanese military mind. I also recommend this book to anyone who thinks we should not have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan - because, if the millions of Japanese soldiers readying themselves for the invasion of Japan in 1945 were anything at all, like Lt. Hiroo Onoda, there is no doubt we would have lost 1,000,000+ allied soldiers in the offensive action. The fight to take Okinawa, the 100 days it took to take Okinawa and the ferocious defense the Japanese Army took to stand against overwhelming allied forces to take Okinawa, is all too real evidence that we had to drop the bomb...unfortunate as that is. Now, in 2014, it is too late to go back and ask those remaining few who might still be alive, to write similar work as this. We do not often hear what our old foe had to say because every distant drum beat has come from America and our victory - drowning out the voices of the past that there was another side to that war - one I think we never wanted to hear. This book lets us hear a tiny portion. PS - I abhor the war crimes and atrocities committed by the Japanese military all over Asia. I condemn those crimes as I would any crime like them, then or since. Yet, Lt. Onoda (according to his account) was not involved in those crimes and did not make decisions that lead to their commitment. I see Onoda as one lone soldier, carrying out his official duty as any good soldier in any army would have done.
September 29, 2023
Ich wollte es nur als Kuriositätenbuch lesen, aber Onoda kann schreiben und hat eine viel interessantere Geschichte zu erzählen, als ich dachte.
Lieblingsstellen:
"Immediately after Kozuka died, I told myself that it would not be so different living alone, but whenever I settled down in one spot, I felt the difference acutely. When there were two of us, Kozuka could go for our water while I cooked. Now I had to do both chores." (S. 193)
"About ten months had gone by now since the departure of the search parties in which my family and friends had participated. I had expected a friendly army to land at almost any time, but there had been no further word. I was beginning to think that the plans had been changed.
That, I thought, was all right too. If ever I did manage to return to Japan, I would still have to work and sweat every day, and I could do that just as well on Lubang." (S. 207)
Und der Schluss!
"Ten minutes later the helicopter I had boarded rose off Lubang, flailing the grass around it. Through the windproof glass I could see Kozuka's grave, and gradually the whole island, grow smaller and begin to fade.
For the first time, I was looking down upon my battlefield.
Why had I fought here for thirty years? Who had I been fighting for ? What was the cause ?
Manila Bay was bathed in the evening sun."
Buch ist in der Open Library: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL50606...
Lieblingsstellen:
"Immediately after Kozuka died, I told myself that it would not be so different living alone, but whenever I settled down in one spot, I felt the difference acutely. When there were two of us, Kozuka could go for our water while I cooked. Now I had to do both chores." (S. 193)
"About ten months had gone by now since the departure of the search parties in which my family and friends had participated. I had expected a friendly army to land at almost any time, but there had been no further word. I was beginning to think that the plans had been changed.
That, I thought, was all right too. If ever I did manage to return to Japan, I would still have to work and sweat every day, and I could do that just as well on Lubang." (S. 207)
Und der Schluss!
"Ten minutes later the helicopter I had boarded rose off Lubang, flailing the grass around it. Through the windproof glass I could see Kozuka's grave, and gradually the whole island, grow smaller and begin to fade.
For the first time, I was looking down upon my battlefield.
Why had I fought here for thirty years? Who had I been fighting for ? What was the cause ?
Manila Bay was bathed in the evening sun."
Buch ist in der Open Library: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL50606...
April 10, 2019
I can never give enough credit to Onoda for what I've learned from him throughout reading and translating this work of non-fiction into Arabic.
I will write my full review in the Arabic edition inshallah once it's in the market.
I will write my full review in the Arabic edition inshallah once it's in the market.
May 28, 2020
No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War is the autobiography of Hiroo Onoda an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who fought in World War II and was a Japanese holdout who did not surrender at the war's end in August 1945. After the war ended Onoda spent 29 years hiding out on the island of Lubang in the Philippines until his former commander traveled from Japan to formally relieve him from duty in 1974.
So – weird story right? Japanese soldier hides out for nearly 30 years without realizing the war is over. On its face it seems like a quirky tale of mis-communication, but the reality is much more disturbing.
Many attempts were made to communicate to Onoda that the war was over. Numerous leaflets were dropped, magazines and newspapers were left in conspicuous locations for Onoda to find, loudspeakers broadcast news in Japanese, he stole a radio and had access to the news, his brother even traveled to the island multiple times in an attempt to reach him. Onoda received all of these messages, yet refused to believe them.
This is a case study in the creation of an insular, conspiratorial world-view that is completely impervious to facts or countervailing evidence. Regardless of the information conveyed, Onoda warped and twisted it to fit his preconceived narrative. He believed:
- Newspapers must have been altered by the CIA to trick him into surrendering
- Messages and photos from family and relatives were counterfeit
- Radio broadcasts were an American psi-ops effort
- His brother was a well-trained imposter
Onoda possessed the delusional mindset of every conspiracy-theory-believing lunatic on the internet today with the mental gymnastics ability to rationalize away every bit of the overwhelming evidence that was literally in front of his eyes.
One might write him off as just another delusional nutjob, yet it’s much worse than that:
- Onoda and his compatriots (there were 3 others initially) carried out raids on local Filipino farmers and fishermen, stealing what they wanted and killing their livestock for food.
- He burned farmer’s rice fields under the fallacious fantasy that he was conducting guerilla operations against the enemy.
- He kidnapped and threatened peasants
- He murdered innocent civilians and police while they were going about their daily routines (a fact he conveniently omits from this book).
As the story went on I found myself disliking, then utterly despising Onoda and his deranged mindset. Like every sociopath throughout history Onoda thought of himself in the most flattering of terms … he was a brave patriot upholding his sacred duty to God and country, all the while carrying out atrocity after atrocity. A sanctimonious psychopath able to justify his own abhorrent behavior in the belief it served some grandiose, self-important purpose.
Karma never caught up with Onoda. After surrendering in 1974 he received a pardon from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos for his crimes against Filipino civilians. He returned to Japan a celebrity, wrote this autobiography, got married and lived until 2014 finally dying of heart failure at age 91.
So – weird story right? Japanese soldier hides out for nearly 30 years without realizing the war is over. On its face it seems like a quirky tale of mis-communication, but the reality is much more disturbing.
Many attempts were made to communicate to Onoda that the war was over. Numerous leaflets were dropped, magazines and newspapers were left in conspicuous locations for Onoda to find, loudspeakers broadcast news in Japanese, he stole a radio and had access to the news, his brother even traveled to the island multiple times in an attempt to reach him. Onoda received all of these messages, yet refused to believe them.
This is a case study in the creation of an insular, conspiratorial world-view that is completely impervious to facts or countervailing evidence. Regardless of the information conveyed, Onoda warped and twisted it to fit his preconceived narrative. He believed:
- Newspapers must have been altered by the CIA to trick him into surrendering
- Messages and photos from family and relatives were counterfeit
- Radio broadcasts were an American psi-ops effort
- His brother was a well-trained imposter
Onoda possessed the delusional mindset of every conspiracy-theory-believing lunatic on the internet today with the mental gymnastics ability to rationalize away every bit of the overwhelming evidence that was literally in front of his eyes.
One might write him off as just another delusional nutjob, yet it’s much worse than that:
- Onoda and his compatriots (there were 3 others initially) carried out raids on local Filipino farmers and fishermen, stealing what they wanted and killing their livestock for food.
- He burned farmer’s rice fields under the fallacious fantasy that he was conducting guerilla operations against the enemy.
- He kidnapped and threatened peasants
- He murdered innocent civilians and police while they were going about their daily routines (a fact he conveniently omits from this book).
As the story went on I found myself disliking, then utterly despising Onoda and his deranged mindset. Like every sociopath throughout history Onoda thought of himself in the most flattering of terms … he was a brave patriot upholding his sacred duty to God and country, all the while carrying out atrocity after atrocity. A sanctimonious psychopath able to justify his own abhorrent behavior in the belief it served some grandiose, self-important purpose.
Karma never caught up with Onoda. After surrendering in 1974 he received a pardon from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos for his crimes against Filipino civilians. He returned to Japan a celebrity, wrote this autobiography, got married and lived until 2014 finally dying of heart failure at age 91.
July 16, 2013
Really enjoyed this book. What an amazingly interesting story. It's an autobiography/ memoir, so it's hard to comment on the validity, but there are certainly parts where I did hit my forehead in disbelief that a person would interpret their surroundings the way Hiroo did and be so stubborn as to not come out of the jungle.
Overall though, I really liked it.
Also wished the ending went further into his re-assimilation back into modern Japanese society.
Overall though, I really liked it.
Also wished the ending went further into his re-assimilation back into modern Japanese society.
November 13, 2008
What this man did to survive so long in the freakin' jungle is insane. Loyalty to a fault - endearing and crazy at the same time. If anyone is interested in the Japanese psyche or of WWII from the Japanese point of view this is a great book.
July 7, 2019
This is the most absurd true story I've ever heard of. Onoda was sent to a Philippine's Island in 1944 during the WWII to perform a secret mission.
After the island was attacked by Americans, he and a few others went to hide in the jungle. Onoda was supposed to lead the men based on guerrilla warfare strategies and that's what he did.
The only problem is that after the war was over, he continued fighting and hiding in the jungle. Many people, including his family were sent to tell him the war was over, but he thought it was only the enemy's strategy to make him and his comrades come down from the mountains and make them war prisoners or worse.
His comrades were killed one by one, by Philippines' police or by locals who were tired of being sacked, attacked, and terrorized by the Japanese military.
Onoda fought until 1974 believing the WWII was still an ongoing event.
After the island was attacked by Americans, he and a few others went to hide in the jungle. Onoda was supposed to lead the men based on guerrilla warfare strategies and that's what he did.
The only problem is that after the war was over, he continued fighting and hiding in the jungle. Many people, including his family were sent to tell him the war was over, but he thought it was only the enemy's strategy to make him and his comrades come down from the mountains and make them war prisoners or worse.
His comrades were killed one by one, by Philippines' police or by locals who were tired of being sacked, attacked, and terrorized by the Japanese military.
Onoda fought until 1974 believing the WWII was still an ongoing event.
July 31, 2018
Incredibly fascinating and surpassed my expectations! I am not typically into military anything, so I went in a little nervous I wouldn’t enjoy the writing. After getting passed a few chapter filled with military jargon, I was hooked. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I’m incredibly disappointed be didn’t go into readjusting to society. 30 years in the jungle and then nothing in what shocked him, what he struggled with, etc- that could have been another 50+ pages!
February 28, 2009
Classic guerilla story about a Japanese soldier who is send to an Philipine island to conduct secret warfare. The ordinary officers act snooty and arrogant when Onoda wanted to conduct guerilla tactic. The others all got killed and Onoda survived for 30 years in the jungle.
March 7, 2008
Fascinating. Insight into the proud Japanese culture with a shocking true story of a solider who fought on a remote island refusing to believe that his country would surrender during WWII.
June 12, 2025
Reading a book like this can get you frustrated about the books you have to read in school. What’s the point of all that sentimental fluff?
I’m sure that a lot of this is wrong, misremembered or straight up forged, but it reads at a shocking pace. It’s a real testament to what good, solid literacy for interesting people can do when it comes time for them to tell their stories.
I was surprised how much of this book centered around the epistemological difficulties that Onoda had with accepting the truth from the outside world that Japan had lost the war, that they were now allies with the Americans, that the locals were not actually pissed with him, etc.
The only negative thing I can think, aside from too many typos, is that, if ever a book needed a map at the beginning of it, this one does!
I’m sure that a lot of this is wrong, misremembered or straight up forged, but it reads at a shocking pace. It’s a real testament to what good, solid literacy for interesting people can do when it comes time for them to tell their stories.
I was surprised how much of this book centered around the epistemological difficulties that Onoda had with accepting the truth from the outside world that Japan had lost the war, that they were now allies with the Americans, that the locals were not actually pissed with him, etc.
The only negative thing I can think, aside from too many typos, is that, if ever a book needed a map at the beginning of it, this one does!
September 22, 2018
It is a very interesting book that recounts the personal experience of Lieutenant Hiro Onoda during the Second World War, who was abandoned on an island in the Philippines with three comrades in arms in conditions that anyone had surrendered. In this book he tells the details of his life in the jungle, how he managed to survive and hide from the inhabitants and the Filipino police, who never managed to capture him. What is really impressive is the fact that he has remained hidden for almost 30 years refusing to surrender until receiving the order of a superior, which is why his Commander Yoshimi Taniguchi, who survived the war and had become a bookseller, was contacted by the Japanese government. Taniguchi flew to Lubang (Philippines) on March 9, 1974 and informed Onoda of the defeat of Japan and ordered him to lay down his arms. Lieutenant Onoda emerged from the jungle 29 years after the end of World War II and accepted the order to surrender, with the delivery of his uniform and katana, along with his Arisaka type 99 rifle, still in working order, 500 rounds and several hand grenades. Despite having killed some thirty inhabitants of the Philippine island and participated in several shootings with the police, the circumstances were taken into account and Onoda received a pardon from President Ferdinand Marcos.
This is definitely one of the best war diaries I've read.
This is definitely one of the best war diaries I've read.
August 7, 2014
Hold onto your hats, people. You are in 2014, and your books are all about vampires, the internet, sex, post-apocalyptic survival, global warming, zombies, 1st world problems and all that. Put it away. We're going 40 years back to 1974, to the Philippines and a true adventure so fantastic that you won't believe it. A Japanese soldier from WWII who never got the memo, still fighting with guns-a-blazing for the Japanese cause. It would be funny in a "Ripley's Believe it or Not" sort of way if he wasn't still killing people and stealing livestock all the way into 1974. SEVENTY-FOUR.
It isn't like no one knew he was there. The Philippine authorities had been yelled loudly for some time... er. ..nearly 30 years. Efforts to rein in Hiroo and his troops... it is a great story with amazing details. There are quite a few astounding WWII stories that you should know, and this is one of the last of them. On my top 100, and that is saying something.
After the book, read the Wiki on this guy to find out what happened after he saw Japan after his 30-year war.
Your No Surrender task? Try to find this book.
It isn't like no one knew he was there. The Philippine authorities had been yelled loudly for some time... er. ..nearly 30 years. Efforts to rein in Hiroo and his troops... it is a great story with amazing details. There are quite a few astounding WWII stories that you should know, and this is one of the last of them. On my top 100, and that is saying something.
After the book, read the Wiki on this guy to find out what happened after he saw Japan after his 30-year war.
Your No Surrender task? Try to find this book.
July 24, 2013
This book is not a difficult read. It is a story told very simply and without flourish by Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who continued fighting WWII until 1974! The book is a testimony to man's capacity to determinedly believe a worldview despite all evidence to the contrary. Onoda explained away multiple newspaper and radio reports, communications by search parties and even broadcasted speeches by his own family telling him the war was over because he could not conceive of a Japanese surrender. Until 1971 Onoda's comrade Kozuka fought alongside him until his tragic death in a police shoot-out.
August 22, 2016
This is an OK book. There is not a lot of detail and the writing style is casual. I did find it incredible that Mr. Onoda despite being given incontrovertible evidence that the war was over would somehow convince himself it was all a ploy and continued his struggle.
I decided to edit my rating from a 4 to a 1. I did a little research and saw the book failed to mention he killed many islanders during raiding missions he conducted. I think the book stated that during a firefight with the natives, one of the islanders fell off to the side. The book would have retained the 4 rating if he had been more honest, especially since he was given a pardon from the Filipino government.
I decided to edit my rating from a 4 to a 1. I did a little research and saw the book failed to mention he killed many islanders during raiding missions he conducted. I think the book stated that during a firefight with the natives, one of the islanders fell off to the side. The book would have retained the 4 rating if he had been more honest, especially since he was given a pardon from the Filipino government.
June 20, 2018
A great example of someone who had the Devine quality of submission
Lately I have been reading and pondering Alma 7:23. The main character in this book almost exactly fits the description of someone who is gentle and submissive. He did exactly what his commander told him to do. He stuck to his guns and grit even though his circumstances often gave out on him. He did all he could to walk upright and gain respect from his leaders. I think that even though what he did at the time was stupid considering the war was over, we also have to appreciate what he did for his cause. A truly remarkable and inspiring man.
Lately I have been reading and pondering Alma 7:23. The main character in this book almost exactly fits the description of someone who is gentle and submissive. He did exactly what his commander told him to do. He stuck to his guns and grit even though his circumstances often gave out on him. He did all he could to walk upright and gain respect from his leaders. I think that even though what he did at the time was stupid considering the war was over, we also have to appreciate what he did for his cause. A truly remarkable and inspiring man.
February 7, 2009
love it. easy read. autobiography about a japanese soldier that doesn't surrender from WWII until the 70s because he believes the info about japan surrendering is propaganda
May 16, 2025
People often say we have confronted nothing like the Islamic radicalism of today, but it seems to me the radicalism of Japan in the World War II era was very similar. I was also reminded of the various cults people find themselves involved in. Hiroo Onoda appeared to be a reasonably normal young man, but he was deluded enough to disbelieve all signs Japan had surrendered and hold out in the Philippine jungles for 30 years. Onoda actually thought the entire Japanese nation would fight to the death before surrendering, so reports he saw of normal life in Japan meant his country had won or was winning the war. (Thinking about his attitude makes me reflect on America's willingness to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After all, our leaders apparently believed people such as Onoda were telling the truth about Japan fighting to the death.) From other sources, I have learned Onoda killed around 30 civilians during his time of hiding, but, to be fair, he thought they were the enemy. The book doesn't delve deeply into Onoda's thinking about his 30-year delusion and doesn't address the fame and life he experienced after surrender. Apparently he and his wife at least flirted with right-wing Japanese nationalism in their later years.
November 13, 2022
This is a fascinating book. It’s amazing how a man could be delusional for so many years despite so much evidence that the war was already over. I wish the book went on a little longer so I could read about his transition back into civilian life, how he could not adjust to a transformed post war Japan, and his decision to move to Brazil.
November 4, 2023
Compelling, but frustrating. Just. Give. Yourself. Up! I noticed that some others have given this book poor reviews because Onoda was so maddeningly deluded. But of course he was, otherwise there’d have been no ordeal, no 30 years and no story. 1 star off because he disingenuously omits the worst elements of his guerilla tactics. Very readable all the same.
September 27, 2022
Slow in the beginning, but the latter half really hits hard. What a wasted life... What madness we humans are possessed by. The final lines sum it all up:
Why had I fought here for thirty years? Who had I been fighting for? What was the cause?
Manila Bay was bathed in the evening sun.
Why had I fought here for thirty years? Who had I been fighting for? What was the cause?
Manila Bay was bathed in the evening sun.
July 5, 2018
Hiroo Onoda received orders in 1944. He was to go to the island in the Phillipines and stage guerrilla warfare against the Allied Army. When the Americans invaded, Hiroo and his men retreated into the jungle. Hiroo lost men through death and desertion until he was the only one left. He came out and formally surrendered. He surrendered in 1974.
This book is the memoir of a man who fought a war against America for 30 years. He, along with two others, lived together and used guerilla tactics on the locals. The Japanese armies attempted to contact them and let them know the war was over.
This book was written very seriously, but there were moments where I had to stop and think about the craziness and...well almost comedic-ness of it. He and the two men worked very hard to convince themselves that the war was still on. There were many times when Hiroo would describe a situation that I knew I would have tapped out on. One of their men deserts and I was with him.
But Hiroo was adaptable and thrived in the environment. It was amazing to read about these experiences. He was an impressive person.
This book is the memoir of a man who fought a war against America for 30 years. He, along with two others, lived together and used guerilla tactics on the locals. The Japanese armies attempted to contact them and let them know the war was over.
This book was written very seriously, but there were moments where I had to stop and think about the craziness and...well almost comedic-ness of it. He and the two men worked very hard to convince themselves that the war was still on. There were many times when Hiroo would describe a situation that I knew I would have tapped out on. One of their men deserts and I was with him.
But Hiroo was adaptable and thrived in the environment. It was amazing to read about these experiences. He was an impressive person.
November 14, 2017
Fascinating autobiography by a Japanese soldier who hid out in the mountains of a small Philippine Island for 30 years until March 1974 no believing that WWII was over. He had been sent to the island on a secret mission by his Japanese superiors in 1944 under orders to never give up until he was ordered to even if it took years. Through his dedication to his service and to Japan, he never believed that the war had been over since 1945, and despite reading and hearing reports over the years that the war had long been over, he believed that all of these reports were lies propagated by secret American agencies. It was only after being found by a young Japanese tourist that he finally surrendered when one of his wartime superiors was brought to the island in 1974 to read to him that he was relieved from his mission and was to return home.
If you enjoy reading a true good tale of survival in a Pacific jungle, you cannot help but be captivated by this story, “No Surrender, My Thirty-Year War, as told by Hiroo Onoda who went on to live out his life in Japan until he died at the age of 92.
If you enjoy reading a true good tale of survival in a Pacific jungle, you cannot help but be captivated by this story, “No Surrender, My Thirty-Year War, as told by Hiroo Onoda who went on to live out his life in Japan until he died at the age of 92.
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