Letters from Iwo Jima

60th Reunion of Japanese and American Iwo Jima Veterans in 2005 (Wikipedia)

Iwo Jima means "sulpher island" in Japanese. Over the course of nearly 40 days, the island became the stage for a pitched battle between 21,000+ Japanese and 100,000+ American soldiers. Only 216 Japanese soldiers surrendered. Close to 3,000 Japanese soldiers remained in hiding in the complex tunnel network of the island after the battle. The rest of the Japanese forces were killed in action or through suicide.

Notes and Thoughts

• General Kuribayashi, through attrition, hoped to deter American forces from invading Japan. I wonder, though, if the losses incurred at Iwo Jima played into the use of the hydrogen bomb at Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
  
  
• The remains of 10,000 Japanese soldiers reported missing-in-action still exist on the island.
  
  
• The movie clearly conveys the Japanese soldiers' desire to protect their families from harm, which resonated with me.
  
  
• General Kuribayashi is the tragic hero of the film (along with tank commander Takiechi Nishi), sent to his death to delay American forces.
  
  
• Desparation, panic, fear, resignation, acceptance, anger, rage, cynicism, horror.
  
  
• Practically speaking, a civilian's best bet of visiting Iwo Jima is through military tourism.
  

Pictures of the island today: http://www.iwojima.com/today.htm