Hiroo Onoda,&nbsp;a former Japanese army intelligence officer who fought in World War II and did not surrender in 1945. In 1974 his former commander traveled from Japan to personally issue orders relieving him from duty. Onoda had spent almost 30 years holding out in the Philippines.
On February 20, 1974, Onoda met a Japanese college dropout, Norio Suzuki, who was traveling the world and was looking for &amp;#8220;Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the Abominable Snowman, in that order&amp;#8221;. Suzuki found Onoda after four days of searching. Onoda and Suzuki became friends, but Onoda still refused to surrender, saying that he was waiting for orders from a superior officer.
Suzuki returned to Japan with photographs of himself and Onoda as proof of their encounter, and the Japanese government located Onoda&amp;#8217;s commanding officer, Major Taniguchi, who had since become a bookseller. He flew to Lubang where on March 9, 1974, he finally met with Onoda and fulfilled the promise made in 1944, &amp;#8220;Whatever happens, we&amp;#8217;ll come back for you,&amp;#8221;