Posted on 01/17/2014 11:30:29 AM PST by Anton.Rutter
A Japanese soldier who hid in the Philippine jungle for three decades, refusing to believe World War II was over until his former commander returned and ordered him to surrender, has died in Tokyo aged 91.
Hiroo Onoda waged a guerilla campaign in Lubang Island near Luzon until he was finally persuaded in 1974 that peace had broken out, ignoring leaflet drops and successive attempts to convince him the Imperial Army had been defeated. (AFP)
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Yeah your right. My paisan Vito Scotti. Most famous as Nazorine the baker from The Godfather. And many roles on Andy’s Gang. Specifically Rama a young indian man in the gunga and Rama series. And the perpetual foil for Froggy the gremlin.
And a gazillion other roles
I have no problem with a man who believes in honor and duty to his country. We need more of them.
Yea, me to, watched a documentary on his life the other week, very interesting
I’ve always loved his story. Truly an amazing tidbit of the war.
Man I bet those shoes stiiiink!
I read his book too. I could not put it down. Long after the war ended Onoda saw Mitsubishi and Toyota trucks. He was convinced that Japan had not lost and the war had gone into an economic phase. If his wartime commander had not returned and ordered him to surrender he would still be in the Philipines.
Best comment from the source:
“30 years from now, they will find him hiding out in a cemetery, refusing to stay dead”.
“During the 30 years that Onoda had remain hidden on Lubang island, he and his men had killed at least 30 Filipinos and had wounded approximately 100 others. After formally surrendering to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Marcos pardoned Onoda for his crimes while in hiding.”
At least he can vote democrat.
The actor in the Gilligan’s Island episode was Vito Scotti, a veteran character actor who was all over TV in the 1960’s.
He appeared in several other Gilligan episodes as other characters.
Of course now he’d be lambasted as a racist....Italian playing an Asian stereotype and all.
This will be Al Gore 20 years from now as we head into a cooler planet, still holding out that the snow and ice covering us is just propaganda., and the earth is, in fact, catastrophically warmer.
America won the war.
Then we had to buy all their cars...
First bellylaugh of the day...thanx 8D
Maybe Onoda was right about Japan winning the economic phase of the war.
Scotti was great! Appeared in several Columbos. In one as a wino, in another a funeral director and still another as a men’s clothier. Funny guy.
I remember the news when he came in from the jungle.
We joked that he was greeted by a nephew who said: “Hey Uncle Hiroo; you remember all that worthless Sony stock you bought back in ‘39?”
“I have no problem with a man who believes in honor and duty to his country. We need more of them.”
******************
Amen!
So who said he was a “hero”? Some people here on FR think WW2 is still going on.
When I was stationed on Guam for a short time in 1968, there were signs on the fences along the roads warning us not to go into the jungle.
Several years later a WWII Japanese soldier came out.
He and the men under his command killed and robbed Filipino civilians. If he believed a war was on or not he still committed war crimes and should have faced justice regardless of when he finally stopped his crime spree.
When they show the Skipper's perspective, the other cast members are made-up to "look" Japanese.
Boy, talk about stereotypes.
I'm certain that to 1964 viewers it wouldn't have raised an eyebrow, though.
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