Teruo Nakamura
| Teruo Nakamura | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 8, 1919 Taiwan, Empire of Japan |
| Died | June 15, 1979 (aged 59) Taiwan, Republic of China |
| Allegiance |
 Empire of Japan
|
| Service/branch |
 Imperial Japanese Army
|
| Years of service | 1943–1974 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | 4th Takasago Volunteer Unit 高砂義勇隊 |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Morotai |
Private Teruo Nakamura (中村 輝夫 Nakamura Teruo?, October 8, 1919 − June 15, 1979) was a Taiwan-born soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army from the indigenous Amis tribe, who fought for Japan in World War II and did not surrender until 1974. He is the last known Japanese hold-out to surrender after the end of hostilities in 1945.
His name in his native Amis language was Attun Palalin. The Taiwanese press referred to him as Lee Guang-Hui (李光輝), a name of which he learned only after his repatriation in 1975.
Nakamura was an Amis aborigine from Japanese-colonized Taiwan. Born in 1919, he was enlisted into a Takasago Volunteer Unit of the Imperial Japanese army in November 1943. He was stationed on Morotai Island in Indonesia shortly before the island was overrun by the Allies in September 1944 in the Battle of Morotai. He was declared dead in March 1945.
After the capture of the island, it appears that Nakamura lived with other stragglers on the island until well into the 1950s, while going off for extended periods of time on his own. In 1956, he apparently decided to relinquish his allegiance with the other remaining holdouts on the island and set off to construct a small camp of his own, consisting of a small hut in a 20 x 30-metre fenced field.
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