Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who spent nearly 30 years in the Philippine jungle, believing World War Two was still going on.
Using his training in guerilla warfare, he attacked and killed people living on Lubang Island, mistakenly believing them to be enemy soldiers.
He was finally persuaded to surrender in 1974 when his former commander, Yoshimi Taniguchi, found him and gave him an order.
In a televised ceremony, Hiroo presented his sword to the then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos.
President Marcos returned the sword and gave him a full presidential pardon and told him he admired his courage.
Hiroo died in January 2014 at the age of 91.
This programme was produced and presented by Vicky Farncombe, using BBC archive.
(Photo: Hiroo Onoda steps out of the jungle. Credit: Getty Images)
The nightclub that changed Ibiza
Discovering Hale Bopp
Indonesia's forest fires
Sweden’s pronoun battle
The resignation of President Nixon
The return of Asians to Uganda
The city shaped by Ugandan Asians
The exodus of Asians from Uganda
When Asians were forced to leave Kenya
Why Asians came to Uganda
The Leaflet Bomber
The Tangshan Earthquake
Inventing nicotine patches
The Surkov leaks
Ukraine's Revolution on Granite
Nigerian sitcom Papa Ajasco
The Soviet James Bond
Who shot JR?
Madhur Jaffrey’s ‘Indian Cookery’
The school for telenovela stars
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Rest Is History
Global News Podcast
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
You’re Dead to Me