by King, Dan
100. http://www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/features/iwo_jima.html#danny
101. Article, Legend of the Unstoppable Marine Danny Thomas, by Chris Farlakas, Times Herald Record, May 31, 2004.
102. Corporal Abe's daughter Yoshiko, and PFC Dunn's daughter Kathy Dunn-Painton met for the first time in March 2013 on Iwo Jima during the annual US-Japan Reunion of Honor ceremony. Kathy was wearing the locket her father gave her before he went off to war. They met again on Iwo Jima in March 2014.
103. At one time, the author and Hershel Willams lived in the neighboring counties of Putnam and Cabel, WVa.
104. A record of the event was written by Ensign Masayoshi Nemoto.
105. From Ensign Masayoshi Nemoto's written account. http://www.aramant.com/chuukou/page04_04.html#anchor
106. The Japanese Submarine Force and World War II, by Carl Boyd and Akihito Yoshida, Naval Institute Press, 1995, p. 171-172
107. The author met MajGen Fred Haynes during the 2009 visit to Iwo Jima. Fred Haynes and James Warren co-authored, The Lions of Iwo Jima, Henry Holt and Company LLC, 2008.
108. Capt. J.W. Thomason, III, USMCR, "The Fourth Division at Iwo Jima," a manuscript, 21Aug45; 4th MarDiv D-2 Periodic Rpts; 4th MarDiv Preliminary POW Interrogation Rpt No. 5, 27Feb45. These defenses, prepared by the 2nd Mixed Brigade Engineers, were reported by POW's to be the most extensive and powerful on the island.
109. USMC Historical Monograph, Iwo Jima Amphibious Epic, Lt.Col. Whitman S. Bartley, p. 172
110. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-IwoJima/USMC-M-IwoJima-8.html
111. Lt(jg) Satoru Ōmagari's experiences first appeared in a Japanese language book, Iwo Jima Kessen written by Iwo Jima survivor Army 1st Lt. Kikuzo Musashino , Shigekisha Press, 1952. 1stLt. Musashino was the commander of the 109th Division's 2nd Combat Engineer Company. Musashino drew on firsthand accounts from many of his fellow Iwo Jima POWs including 1stLt Ichiro Kouda and Senior Private Yasuo Kato.
112. Video interview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BkJmmlOUes
113. Keith Wheeler, THE ROAD TO TOKYO, Time-Life Books, 1979, Alexandria, Virginia, p.50
114. Satoru Ōmagari referred to him only as "Naval Pilot, Wing Commander T." In the author's interview with Akikusa, he refused to state Tachikawa's name claiming it would be bad if Tachikawa's family ever read the negative comments about him. After extensive research, the author confirmed through other sources that Tachikawa had been the un-named man referred to as "Naval Pilot, Wing Commander T." It should be noted that Commander Tachikawa doesn't appear to have survived the battle so is unable to present his side of the story regarding the final months of the battle.
115. Kaigun Kōkutai Shimatsuki, 343Ku Saigō no Yusen, by Minoru Genda. Bungei Shinju Ltd., Dec 1996 p.313-315. (Written Testament of the Naval Air Groups, The Last Brave Fight of the 343 Air Group)
116. Information gathered from article written by Yasuo Suzuki former Japanese Naval Reconn pilot who was a member of LtCdr Tachikawa's 4th Teisatsu Squadron. It appeared in the Feb. 1977 edition of the Naniwa Newsletter. A monthly printed newsletter for former WWII veterans to share their experiences. Discovered on website http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~ma480/senki-1-teisatudai4hikoutai-suzuki1.html
117. Riichi Koyatsu's account of the pilot leaving the bunker to steel a US aircraft, and that of others seeking to make a raft to get off the island dovetail with Akikusa's accounts. They appear in Richard Newcomb's book Iwo Jima. The account dovetails with PO3/c Koyatsu account as gathered in an interview with Fred Saito for Newcomb's book in 1964.
118. In the author's 2006 interview with Satoru Ōmagari, the veteran didn't mention putting the dead man's intestines into a rip in his own pant leg, just his own jacket. The account of the ripped pant leg appears in his 2008 book Eiyu Naki Shima. Ōmagari co-authored it with Shinobu Hisayama.
119. Records from the late Lt James Short's daughter Vicki Hawkins who still has her father's sea trunk that is painted with all of his duty stations including: Quanitico Va., Dunedin FL, Camp Elliot Ca., Camp Pendleton Ca., Camp Tarawa T.H. (Territory of Hawaii), Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Kwajalein, Enewitok and Iwo Jima.
120. From an article written by Satoru Ōmagari in 1994 entitled Watashi no Senjō Taikenki (My Experiences in Battle) http://www.geocities.jp/sato1922jp/naiti2.htm#taikenki
121. Iwo Jima Senki, by Shoichi Kawai, NF Bunko Publishing, Japan 2012, p. 72-74
122. The original message in Japanese: 国の為 重きつとめを 果たし得で 矢弾尽き果て 散るぞ悲しき。仇討たで 野辺には朽ちじ 吾は又 七度生まれて 矛を執らんぞ。醜草の 島に蔓延る その時に 皇国の行手 一途に思ふ。栗林中将 以上
123. From a report dated March 22, 1945, Nin Rikugun Taisho, Rikugun Chujo Kuribayashi Tadamichi, (Acting General, LtGeneral Tadamichi Kuribayashi) by General Hajime Sugiyama and General Kuniaki Koiso. Japan Center for Historical Asian Records, National Archives of Japan. Code Reference A03023553200
124. http://www.jacklummus.com/Files/Files_A/awarding_the_congressional_medal_of_honor.htm
125. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-IwoJima/USMC-M-IwoJima-II.html
126. Naval History & Herirage Comamand, 9th Naval Construction Brigade, Historical Information, pdf accessed August 28, 2013. http://www.history.navy.mil/museums/seabee/UnitListPages/Brigades-WWII/09%20NCBr.pdf
127. This story was not told to the author in 2006, but appears in a 2008 interview done for Shinobu Hisayama's book, Eiyu Naki no Shima, (An Island Without Honor) p. 153
128. Japanese TV documentary about Iwo Jima that is available on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VQKN_6DEXc&feature=endscreen&NR=1
129. Documentary video, "Return to Iwo Jima" (Homevision Studio released June, 2000)
130. The phrase "Duty is heavier than a mountain, Life is lighter than a feather" has a deeper meaning in the original. The word "mountain" actually refers to "Taizan" or Mount Tai in China. It is foremost of China's "Great Five Sacred Mountains." It is associated with sunrise, birth, and renewal. Mount Tai has been a place of worship for at least 3,000 years and served as one of the most important ceremonial centers of China during large portions of this period. The actual expression of duty is heavier than Mt. Taizan comes from a Chinese philosopher known in Japan as "Shibasen." His name in Chinese is Sima Qian (ca. 145 or 135 BC – 86 BC).
131. Documentary video, Return to Iwo Jima (Homevision Studio released June, 2000)
132. Prayers for Iwo Jima, Army physician 1st Lieutenant Kazuyoshi Morimoto, 1966 (Japanese Language)
133. Japanese language website, http://dolphy.jugem.jp/?month=201208
134. Iwao Yamada's combat record for March 25, 1945.
135. http://www.aramant.com/chuukou/page04_04.html
136. Iwo Jima, by Eric Hammel, p235.
137. Blacks in the Marine Corps, by Henry I. Shaw Jr and Ralph W. Donnelly. History and Museums Division, US Marine Corps, 1975.
138. Video interview from Japanese documentary on Iwo Jima survivors, "Senso Iyada." (Youtube)
139. Victory in the Pacific 1945, Samuel Eliot Morison, p.70
140. The author visited Iwo Jima with Jerry Yellin and his two sons in March 2010.
141. Phone conversation April 22, 2013. The author and Mr. Jerry Yellin first met on Guam in March 2010, during the annual visit to Iwo Jima.
142. Iōjima ni Ikiru, (To Live on Iwo Jima) by Shūji Ishii, published in 1982 by Kokushō Kankōkai Corp., Ltd., p. 59-62
143. imbd., p.68-70
144. Author's conversations with Edward Mervich from March 17-20, 2014, while visiting the islands of Guam and Iwo Jima.
145. Some of the details of Ōmagari's activities in April and May came from other interviews he had with Japanese authors, and from his appearance in Japanese documentaries.
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146. Personal correspondence from Ivan Prall, August 2013.
147. Japanese TV documentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znYfjYF_4cs&feature=relmfu
148. Japanese TV documentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znYfjYF_4cs&feature=relmfu
149. Japanese NHK (PBS) documentary about Iwo Jima, "Sensō Iyada" (I Hate War).
150. Interview on Japanese televesion that can be seen on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VQKN_6DEXc&feature=endscreen&NR=1
151. Haruji Mita wrote of his experiences in the Japanese language book, 悲惨な攻防戦硫黄島―死から生への回帰道 Hisan na Kōbōsen Iwōtō – Shi Kara Sei e no Kaikimichi (The Road Back from Death to Life, the Disastrous Defensive Battle of Iwo Jima), 2008, Bungeisha Publishing.
152. On-line video interview recorded by "Japan Veterans Video Archive Project." http://www.jvvap.jp/mita_haruji_v.html
153. Japanese Documentary interview, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyBhjQsX3ew
154. Iwo Jima, Newcomb, p. 259
155. According to James C. Naughton's, Nisei Linguists, the MIS Japanese language school students included Nisei volunteers and Americans of European Ancestry (AEA).
156. In his biography, Chronicles of My Life, An American in the Heart of Japan, (Columbia University Press New York, pp 42-47) Donald Keene states he and Lt Otis Carey both worked in Hawaii as US Navy interrogators, but it seems that Keene didn't meet Satoru Ōmagari at that time because Keene was at sea from April – July, 1945, in support of the Okinawa invasion. Keene later became a professor at Columbia University, penned dozens of books about Japan, and took recently took on Japanese citizenship. He resides in Tokyo.
157. "William R. Gorham (1888–1949) and Japanese Industry," by Kawakami, Kenjiro (2002). International Conference on Business & Technology Transfer. ALSO see Nihonjinn ni natta Americajin Gishi (The American Engineer who Became a Japanese Citizen) A Biography of William Gorham, by Yoji Katsuragi, published in 1993 by Guranpuri Shuppan, Japan.
158. Iōjima ni Ikiru, (To Live on Iwo Jima) by Shūji Ishii, published in 1982 by Kokushō Kankōkai Corp., Ltd., p. 98-99
159. Report of Inspection, Japanese Prisoner of War Camp, Angel Island, by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Special War Problems Division, Department of State, September 16, 1944, R.G. 389, Modern Military Branch of the National Archivces, (MMB-NA)
160. Dave Smith & John Bland & Lee Schaeffer, http://www.schaeffersite.com/michaux/
161. US Army War College website, http://www.carlisle.army.mil/banner/article.cfm?id=683
162. Iōjima ni Ikiru (To Live on Iwo Jima), by Shūji Ishii, first published in 1946, then again in 1982 by Kokushō Kankōkai Corp., Ltd. The Pennsylvania POW camp experiences are outlined in p. 119- 126.
163. It is possible that some of Mr. Akikusa's memories have blurred since 1945. Some of his recollections from Pinegrove Furnace POW Camp (where there was only 1 Italian POW) and Fort Eustis POW Camp (where there were many Italian POWs). There might be some blurred edges and unintended crossover points. The author has used Akikusa's own POW record from 1945, his written and oral statements and background research to untangle disjointed memories.
164. Iōjima ni Ikiru (To Live on Iwo Jima), by Shūji Ishii, first published in 1946, then again in 1982 by Kokushō Kankōkai Corp., Ltd. p. 76-77
165. http://www.downloaddailymotion.com/video/0-the-capture-of-the-tachibana-maru.html
166. Senso: The Japanese Remember the Pacific War: Letters to the Editor of Asahi Shimbun, edited by Frank Gary and M.E. Sharpe, 1995 and 2007. Published by Pacific Basin Institute. P. 140
167. Corporal Toshiharu Takahashi's handwritten memoirs were posted by his grandson, Takahiro Fujiwara. http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~iwojima/page4.html
168. Ōmagari thinks it might have been Pinegrove Furnace POW Camp.
169. 360,000 POWs the Hope of Germany, by US Army Captain Robert Lowe Kunzig, is an article that appeared in "The American Magazine," 1946.
170. Since the Americans lacked both the personnel and the rear-area facilities to detain POWs in the Pacific area, the US War Department reached an agreement in September 1942 that nearly all POWs from the Pacific-except for those whose potential military intelligence value that necessitated their shipment to the United States were to be handed over to Australia and New Zealand for detention. In return, the US helped shoulder the load of POW maintenance costs through lend-lease aid, and was responsible for repatriating POWs at the end of the war.
171. 360,000 POWs the Hope of Germany, by US Army Captain Robert Lowe Kunzig, is an article that appeared in "The American Magazine," 1946. p. 89
172. Iōjima ni Ikiru (To Live on Iwo Jima), by Shūji Ishii, first published in 1946, then again in 1982 by Kokushō Kankōkai Corp., Ltd. p. 162-163
173. The very number of the Japanese POWs held in the US is in question according to official sources. The figures range from 569 (George G. Lewis and John Mewha, "History of Prisoner of War Utilization by the United States Army, 1776-1945," U.S. Dept. of the Army Pamphlet No. 20-213 [Washington, D.C., June 1955], to 3,260 POWs ("Investigations of the National War Effort," H. Rep. 728, 79 Cong., 1 sess., [June 12, 1945], 6). A detailed examination of the Records of the Provost Marshal General's Office (Record Group 389), at the Modern Military Branch of the National Archives, Washington, D.C. (MMB-NA), resulted in 5,424 Japanese POWs. Source: Japanese Prisoners of War by Arnold Krammer, Professor of History, Texas A & M University. Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Feb. 1983), pp. 67-91
174. Japanese documentary interview, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyBhjQsX3ew
175. Takeshi Shimono, 145th Infantry as interviewed by NHK regarding his experiences on Iwo Jima and what it was like to come back to Japan after being a Prisoner of War. http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/shogenarchives/shogen/movie.cgi?das_id=D0001100622_00000
176. The author has a photocopy of the original letter from Wachi to LtCol R.W. Hayward dated 11/10/1945.
177. Copies of report provided by Tom McLeod, author of Always Ready, The Story of the United State's 147th Infantry Regiment. (1999)
178. Provided by author and 147th Infantry historian, Tom McLeod.
Footnotes
[1] On June 18, 2007, the Japanese Government changed the name from Iwo Jima to the pre-war pronunciation of "Iō Tō" (Ee-oh-toh). The English on the control tower was repainted to "Iwo To" sometime after Akikusa's 2008 visit.
[2] The locals named this area "Tamana-yama" for the large Momotamana trees (Terminalia catappa) that once flourished on the island.
[3] 我等は敵人を倒さざれば死すとも死せず。 (Original Japanese)
[4] USN Task Group 94.9, the heavy cruisers USS Chester (CA-27), Pensacola (CA-24) and Salt Lake City (CA-25), and nine destroyers.
[5] The dead are not buried but are cremated in Japan. Family members share a plot with the cremated remains placed in ceramic urns in a chamber under the headstone.
[6] The custom mimicked the ancient seppuku custom of swallowing a bit of water before the deed.
[7] A famous graduate of the Nakano Intelligence School was 2nd Lt Hirō Onoda, who held out in the Philippines until 1974. He later wrote the book My Thirty Year War.
[8] Jonbera, the Japanese pronunciation of "John Bull," the nickname for British sailors. The Japanese patterned their navy after the British Royal Navy.
[9] Gunjin Seishin Chūnyūbō was not a standardized club, but could be seen in various lengths and widths. The club usually had the inscription either written or carved into it. The important aspect was that it was a hard wooden bat-like object used to inflict maximum pain and humiliation with minimum physical injury. Every Japanese Navy veteran has his own story to tell about this wooden instrument.
[10] Ian geidan 慰安芸団 (Troops Entertainers).
[11] The same language school where LtGen Shun Akikusa studied
Russian.
[12] Ichirō Yokoyama was later promoted to Rear Admiral in May 1945, and was part of the Japanese surrender party aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945.
[13]Sometimes seen spelled Atsuji, but the pronunciation of his family name is Atsuchi.
[14] Kumanosan Maru was later sunk on June 24, 1944, by the submarine SS Grouper. The name is sometimes misspelled in English as "Kumanoyama Maru."
[15] Several of these bunkers still stand.
[16] Hiriho Kenten means, "Injustice cannot defeat Principle, Principle cannot defeat Law, Law cannot defeat Power, Power cannot defeat Heaven."
[17] Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) had both AM and FM stations, as well as overseas broadcasts aimed at Japanese living in Hawaii and the west coast of North America with a program known as "Radio Tokyo."
[18] Shichishō Hōkoku (七生報國).
[19] The Japanese Army's 78th Regiment was formed in Pusan, Korea in 1916.
[20] The author spent a week on Wake Atoll in 2003 with six American combat veterans to film the Emmy-nominated documentary, "Wake Island: The Alamo of the Pacific."
[21] Takeichi Nishi was posthumously promoted to Colonel.
[22] Lieutenant Genichi Hattori's widow, Sawako, remarried in 1948 taking the surname Yoshikawa. Her second husband treated little Chikako as his own. Sawako passed away in 1993, but Chikako is alive and well with a family of her own.
[23] Gen-ICHI is the older brother, and Gen-JI is the younger brother.
[24] Captain Yoshinobu Hakuta was posthumously promoted to Major. In English, his last name sometimes appears as Hakata, or Hakuda, but "Hakuta" is the correct spelling confirmed with the Japanese Iwo Jima Association.
[25] Some books claim this unit arrived on July 20th, but 1st Lt Hattori's handwritten letter claims he arrived on July 15, 1944.
[26] The author took the 28-hour ferry from Tokyo to Chichi Jima and can attest to this breathtaking wonder.
[27] US Submarine Steelhead (SS-280) damaged Enju Maru 110 miles from Chichi Jima on February 15, 1944. (Official Chronology of the US Navy in WWII)
[28] The author visited Chichi Jima in 1992, and sent photos of the destroyed communications bunker to the President, who replied with a sincere handwritten letter of appreciation.