Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese World War II Army Intelligence officer, emerged from the Philippine jungles Sunday after he retrieved the Samurai sword he hid there during his 29-year absence from civilization, Philippines, March 1974.

Hirō "Hiroo" Onoda (Onoda Hirō, 19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was an Imperial Japanese Army Intelligence officer who fought in World War II. He was a Japanese holdout who did not surrender at war's end in August 1945. After the war ended, Onoda spent 29 years holding out in the Philippines until his former commander traveled from Japan in 1974 to formally relieve him from duty by order of the Emperor. He held the rank of second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was the penultimate Japanese soldier to surrender, with Teruo Nakamura surrendering later in 1974.

Sheet: 8 7/8 x 7 7/8

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Hiroo Onoda
• Japan
• Japanese Army
• Japanese Army Intelligence
• Jungles
• Lt. Hiroo Onoda
• Pacific Theater
• Philippines
• Surrender of Japan
• World War II

• Image Dimensions: 8 1/2 x 6 15/16 in. (21.59 x 17.62 cm)

This object is a member of the following portfolios: