Indonesia's last surviving Japanese freedom fighter

[Nike]

i would prefer to call him Pak Rahmat

 

[Reashot Xigwin]

In Memoriam: Japanese who fought for Indonesia dies at 95
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Malang, East Java | Feature | Wed, August 27 2014, 11:48 AM

Rachmad Shigeru Ono: The decorated veteran of Indonesia’s Independence War before his death.
Feature News

Rachmad Shigeru Ono, one of the last living Japanese soldiers to fight for Indonesian independence, died in Malang, East Java, on Monday. He was 95.

“Although even in his advanced age, my father was still able to fast [for Ramadhan]. He was walking to the mosque every morning with his stick. Even when he’s sick, he still receives many visitors at home,” his son Eru told The Jakarta Post before his father’s death.

Rachmad, one of 324 Japanese soldiers who fought against the Dutch during the Independence War and later became Indonesian citizens, was born in Hokkaido, Japan, on Sept. 26, 1918.

He enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army at 20 to fight in Manchuria and was transferred to the Dutch East Indies as part of the colonial occupation of the then-Dutch colony in 1942.

In Bandung, West Java, Rachmad was a trainer for PETA, the Japanese-led volunteer army for Indonesians during World War II. PETA was the nucleus for what would eventually become the Indonesian Military.

After Japan’s surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, Rachmad joined a pro-Indonesian guerrilla troop of Japanese soldiers led by Ichiki “Abdul Rahman” Tatsuo. He lost his left arm to a bomb explosion while fighting the Dutch at Mount Semeru in East Java.

“My father has related that not all stories about Japanese occupation in Indonesia are true. Many Japanese people, like Chinese traders coming to Indonesia, assimilated with local communities but their activities have been overshadowed by sadistic accounts of romusha,” Eru said, referring to the abuse of Indonesians as forced labor during the war.

Ichiki, who had lived in Indonesia for a decade before the war, formed the troupe that Rachmad would join out of disappointment that the surrendering Japanese reneged on a promise to give Indonesian its independence.

However, historians say that some of the Japanese soldiers who fought for Indonesia would have likely faced trials for war crimes had they returned to their country of birth.

“I’ve met with family members of Ichiki in Indonesia several times. They told many memorable stories of their childhood, when they were called ‘invader’s children’ by their friends but they remained proud of their father’s deeds,” Eru said.

He continues. “It was Pak Ichiki who introduced my father to my would-be mother, Darkasi, in Batu, Malang. She was a Javanese from a local apple farmer’s family.”

The family of Darsaki, who died in 1982, encouraged Rachmad to stay in Indonesia — even though the Japanese government had revoked his citizenship and he had yet to acquire Indonesian nationality.

“Mother’s family taught Rachmad how to grow apple trees,” Eru said. “Although they lived in poverty, my parents managed to meet their daily needs.”

Rachmad, who became an Indonesian citizen in 1951, worked as a carpenter, rice miller and poultry breeder in Java and Kalimantan to support his family. He sent his clippings of his hair and fingernails to relatives in Japan so they would assume he had died in action.

“Although my father had surgery in 2000 for a digestion disorder resulting from a robber’s knife wound, at his old age, he was still hoeing in the apple plantation. He’s a real hard worker,” Eru said, referring to an operation to Rachmad had to alleviate pain from a stab wound to the abdomen suffered when he was mugged outside the Sarinah department store on Jl. MH Thamrin in Jakarta in 1970.

Eventually, Rachmad reestablished contact with his family in Japan. Eru, who worked in Japan for a while, visited his father’s siblings: Makoto, who lives in a home for the elderly, and Masato, since deceased.

“Masato’s daughter, Yuki Ono, once stayed with us in Batu for six months,” he said.

Rachmad’s daughter Surnani echoed Eru. “We’ve exchanged food. They brought Japanese cuisine and we cooked them Javanese food. As a Muslim family we highly respect their family’s Shinto faith.”

According to Surnani, Rachmad loved the imitation katana sword given to him by a relative. “Father’s real [sword] was lost while fighting. But he always carries this one during Indonesian Independence Day ceremonies.”

In 1958, Rachmad was awarded the Veteran’s Medal and the Guerrilla Medal by Sukarno. He was also regularly invited to celebrate Independence Day at the Merdeka Palace.

“Father always advises his children to preserve peaceful life and avoid war,” Sunari said before Rachmad’s death. “Any conflict due to differences in ideology and identity will cause the separation of family members.”

In Memoriam: Japanese who fought for Indonesia dies at 95 | The Jakarta Post

 

[nufix]

i would prefer to call him Pak Rahmat

I prefer to call him with his Rahmat name too. My highschool classmate, a descendant of a former Japanese soldier, told me once that his family doesn't even know his grandfather's real japanese name. He told me that his grandpa burned all of his japanese identities including the documents that linked him to Japan, the only things he spared were his uniform and his sword. Any idea ga tante mado, why did he erase all of his japanese identities?

 

[nufix]

Ono-San in Imperial Uniform.

This military outfit inspired the military outfit of Indonesian army during the independence war 1945-1949, after all, Japan did transformed Indonesian mobs to professional fighters through PETA (Kyōdo Bōei Giyūgun), which gave the new born country a fighting chance against trained troops of the allied forces. PETA itself was the core of the later Indonesian national armed force.

Bung Tomo, commander of indonesian army in Surabaya

 

[Aepsilons]

In Memoriam: Japanese who fought for Indonesia dies at 95
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Malang, East Java | Feature | Wed, August 27 2014, 11:48 AM

Rachmad Shigeru Ono: The decorated veteran of Indonesia’s Independence War before his death.
Feature News

Rachmad Shigeru Ono, one of the last living Japanese soldiers to fight for Indonesian independence, died in Malang, East Java, on Monday. He was 95.

“Although even in his advanced age, my father was still able to fast [for Ramadhan]. He was walking to the mosque every morning with his stick. Even when he’s sick, he still receives many visitors at home,” his son Eru told The Jakarta Post before his father’s death.

Rachmad, one of 324 Japanese soldiers who fought against the Dutch during the Independence War and later became Indonesian citizens, was born in Hokkaido, Japan, on Sept. 26, 1918.

He enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army at 20 to fight in Manchuria and was transferred to the Dutch East Indies as part of the colonial occupation of the then-Dutch colony in 1942.

In Bandung, West Java, Rachmad was a trainer for PETA, the Japanese-led volunteer army for Indonesians during World War II. PETA was the nucleus for what would eventually become the Indonesian Military.

After Japan’s surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, Rachmad joined a pro-Indonesian guerrilla troop of Japanese soldiers led by Ichiki “Abdul Rahman” Tatsuo. He lost his left arm to a bomb explosion while fighting the Dutch at Mount Semeru in East Java.

“My father has related that not all stories about Japanese occupation in Indonesia are true. Many Japanese people, like Chinese traders coming to Indonesia, assimilated with local communities but their activities have been overshadowed by sadistic accounts of romusha,” Eru said, referring to the abuse of Indonesians as forced labor during the war.

Ichiki, who had lived in Indonesia for a decade before the war, formed the troupe that Rachmad would join out of disappointment that the surrendering Japanese reneged on a promise to give Indonesian its independence.

However, historians say that some of the Japanese soldiers who fought for Indonesia would have likely faced trials for war crimes had they returned to their country of birth.

“I’ve met with family members of Ichiki in Indonesia several times. They told many memorable stories of their childhood, when they were called ‘invader’s children’ by their friends but they remained proud of their father’s deeds,” Eru said.

He continues. “It was Pak Ichiki who introduced my father to my would-be mother, Darkasi, in Batu, Malang. She was a Javanese from a local apple farmer’s family.”

The family of Darsaki, who died in 1982, encouraged Rachmad to stay in Indonesia — even though the Japanese government had revoked his citizenship and he had yet to acquire Indonesian nationality.

“Mother’s family taught Rachmad how to grow apple trees,” Eru said. “Although they lived in poverty, my parents managed to meet their daily needs.”

Rachmad, who became an Indonesian citizen in 1951, worked as a carpenter, rice miller and poultry breeder in Java and Kalimantan to support his family. He sent his clippings of his hair and fingernails to relatives in Japan so they would assume he had died in action.

“Although my father had surgery in 2000 for a digestion disorder resulting from a robber’s knife wound, at his old age, he was still hoeing in the apple plantation. He’s a real hard worker,” Eru said, referring to an operation to Rachmad had to alleviate pain from a stab wound to the abdomen suffered when he was mugged outside the Sarinah department store on Jl. MH Thamrin in Jakarta in 1970.

Eventually, Rachmad reestablished contact with his family in Japan. Eru, who worked in Japan for a while, visited his father’s siblings: Makoto, who lives in a home for the elderly, and Masato, since deceased.

“Masato’s daughter, Yuki Ono, once stayed with us in Batu for six months,” he said.

Rachmad’s daughter Surnani echoed Eru. “We’ve exchanged food. They brought Japanese cuisine and we cooked them Javanese food. As a Muslim family we highly respect their family’s Shinto faith.”

According to Surnani, Rachmad loved the imitation katana sword given to him by a relative. “Father’s real [sword] was lost while fighting. But he always carries this one during Indonesian Independence Day ceremonies.”

In 1958, Rachmad was awarded the Veteran’s Medal and the Guerrilla Medal by Sukarno. He was also regularly invited to celebrate Independence Day at the Merdeka Palace.

“Father always advises his children to preserve peaceful life and avoid war,” Sunari said before Rachmad’s death. “Any conflict due to differences in ideology and identity will cause the separation of family members.”

In Memoriam: Japanese who fought for Indonesia dies at 95 | The Jakarta Post

I am glad that Ono-San is no longer in pain. This picture is all too familiar for me, as my grandfather, who lived up to age 87 years old, was bed ridden in his own later years. It had always pained me to see my own Ojisan in a bed and imobile. Tho despite this he was still quite mentally sound and able. I am sure that as much as Ono-San's (Pak Rahmat) children and grandchildren loved him, but at least this way he no longer is in pain anymore. There is the eternal peace in death, and the beginning of a new journey.

His story (Pak Rahmat) is very inspiring. A Japanese who would in turn become an Indonesian.

Condolences to his family and to all Indonesians who had grandparents who, too, fought in the war.

 

[Nike]

I prefer to call him with his Rahmat name too. My highschool classmate, a descendant of a former Japanese soldier, told me once that his family doesn't even know his grandfather's real japanese name. He told me that his grandpa burned all of his japanese identities including the documents that linked him to Japan, the only things he spared were his uniform and his sword. Any idea ga tante mado, why did he erase all of his japanese identities?

all of i've known about first generation Nissei in Indonesia after war of Independence they would prefer to be known as an Indonesian, not as a Japanese person.

IMHO, apapun motif dan alasan mereka untuk tinggal dan mengganti identitasnya di Indonesia setelah perang Dunia II, pengorbanan mereka sebagai Pejuang kemerdekaan sama kerasnya dan sama gigihnya dengan pejuang Indonesia lainnya.

 

[Aepsilons]

all of i've known about first generation Nissei in Indonesia after war of Independence they would prefer to be known as an Indonesian, not as a Japanese person.

IMHO, apapun motif dan alasan mereka untuk tinggal dan mengganti identitasnya di Indonesia setelah perang Dunia II, pengorbanan mereka sebagai Pejuang kemerdekaan sama kerasnya dan sama gigihnya dengan pejuang Indonesia lainnya.

If my memory serves me right, your own grandfather was also an Imperial Soldier , right, Ms. @madokafc ? Who eventually served in the Indonesian War of Independence ?

 

[Nike]

If my memory serves me right, your own grandfather was also an Imperial Soldier , right, Ms. @madokafc ? Who eventually served in the Indonesian War of Independence ?

yes it is true, my grandfather pass away while i am still a child though, so i just only hearing much about his story from my father

 

[nufix]

all of i've known about first generation Nissei in Indonesia after war of Independence they would prefer to be known as an Indonesian, not as a Japanese person.

IMHO, apapun motif dan alasan mereka untuk tinggal dan mengganti identitasnya di Indonesia setelah perang Dunia II, pengorbanan mereka sebagai Pejuang kemerdekaan sama kerasnya dan sama gigihnya dengan pejuang Indonesia lainnya.

I was just asking tante mado, their service is not to be disputed I agree, they have spilled their own blood that they turned their white shirt into red and white.

 

[waz]

RIP noble solider. You came as a stranger and left the world as a hero to Indonesia. Your sacrifices will not be forgotten.

I prayed for his soul, inshallah he is in a far better place. May Allah give him a high station.

I hope the ties between Indonesia and Japan improve more.

 

[Aepsilons]

yes it is true, my grandfather pass away while i am still a child though, so i just only hearing much about his story from my father

My condolences Ms. @madokafc . Were you able to re-connect with your Ojisan's (grandpapa) family back in Japan ?

RIP noble solider. You came as a stranger and left the world as a hero to Indonesia. Your sacrifices will not be forgotten.

I prayed for his soul, inshallah he is in a far better place. May Allah give him a high station.

I hope the ties between Indonesia and Japan improve more.

Beautifully said, my brother.

Amen.

 

[Aepsilons]

Mr Ono was born Sakari Ono in Furano, Hokkaido, to farmer parents.

How very welcoming to hear. He was from a beautiful , well known area in Hokkaido. The land is pristine and known for its fertile land, and rolling farms...! How befitting that he also became a farmer in Indonesia.

Furano, Hokkaido Prefecture:

 

[waz]

Beautifully said, my brother.

Amen.

Thanks bro.

 

[Nike]

My condolences Ms. @madokafc . Were you able to re-connect with your Ojisan's (grandpapa) family back in Japan ?



Beautifully said, my brother.

Amen.

yes, while i going to Japan for study, i visited them in Saitama

I was just asking tante mado, their service is not to be disputed I agree, they have spilled their own blood that they turned their white shirt into red and white.

yang saya tahu dari bapak saya sih, mereka semua rata-rata nggak mau cerita kenapa mereka gak balik lagi ke Jepang dan apa yang mereka lakukan selama berada di IJA/IJN services, tapi bakalan lebih excited dan menggebu-gebu kalau cerita pertempuran mereka melawan Belanda atau Inggris termasuk ketika mereka kehilangan sebagian besar rekan mereka dalam pertempuran. In Ambarawa, it was Nissei led company who actually got through the England defense line and in process they lose almost half of their company and bear the brunt of fighting there because of their experiences and prowess.