A bronze statue stands proudly in the courtyard of the PETA (Defenders of the Homeland) Museum in Bogor. It depicts a soldier raising his right fist in the air. His left hand holds a katana, while his head is adorned with a ryakubo cap typical of Japanese soldiers. On the base of the monument is an inscription that reads: “Shodanco Supriyadi. Commander of the TKR.”
“Supriyadi witnessed the Indonesian people being turned into romusha (forced laborers). Therefore, Supriyadi rebelled against the Japanese,” explained Yulis Fatimah, a guide at the PETA Museum, to Historia.ID.
Supriyadi was appointed as Indonesia's first defense minister, but he never appeared at his inauguration in September 1945. Seven months earlier, on February 14, 1945, Supriyadi led a resistance against the Japanese military in Blitar, East Java. This action by Supriyadi is recorded in history as the PETA Army Uprising in Blitar.
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