After Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945, Rijadi led Indonesian forces in the Surakarta area during the revolution against the returning Dutch.

During a second Dutch offensive, Rijadi lost control of the city but soon retook it, later leading counter-offensives in West Java.

[1][7] Rijadi, who when not at sea lived in a dormitory near Gambir Station in Central Jakarta, occasionally met with underground resistance.

[9] He was not captured by the Japanese military police or other units for the remainder of the occupation, which ended with Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945.

[1] After the Japanese surrender, the Dutch attempted to re-occupy the newly declared Republic of Indonesia; unwilling to be colonised, the Indonesians fought back.

Two months later, the Dutch launched a second attack, this time on the nearby city of Yogyakarta (then serving as the nation's capital).

[11] Not long after the end of the war, the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) declared its independence from the nascent Indonesia.

During the trip, RMS snipers armed with jungle carbines and Owen guns shot constantly at the troops, often pinning them down.

As Rijadi was riding atop a tank towards the final rebel stronghold on 4 November, a volley of machine gun fire erupted in his direction.

After being rushed to a hospital ship, Rijadi insisted on returning to the front; instead, the doctors gave him much morphine and attempted unsuccessfully to treat the wound.

[11] On 9 November 2007, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono gave Rijadi the title National Hero of Indonesia;[18] Rijadi received the title along with Adnan Kapau Gani, Ida Anak Agung Gde Agung, and Moestopo based on Presidential Decree Number 66 / TK of 2007.