In March 1974, Former Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda surrendered on a small island in the Philippines 30 years after World War II ended. Praised and pardoned by then-President Ferdinand Marcos, the Japanese straggler received a hero's welcome on returning to his homeland. But during their decades of evading capture, Onoda and his comrades had done great harm to the islanders. Newly released secret documents show that Japan and the Philippines saw Onoda's return as a sensitive political and diplomatic matter.
