Iwo Jima no longer exists

[mustangdriver]

It is now named Iwo To. The Japanese renamed the island to lay claim back to it. Erasing history?

[TAdan]

Found an article that explains the name change...

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/06/2 ... ml?ref=rss

[mustangdriver]

I have to say that after reading that article, it is a little more clear, alothough I think that they don't mind getting rid of the name, it does make some sense to change it back. The article I read was different.

[JDK]

More here.

Name

Traditionally the name was Iōtō. Prior to the 1946 spelling reform, a historical spelling was used resulting in (approximately) Iwōtō (modern Iōtō). An alternative name Iwōjima (modern Iōjima), where jima is alternative reading for tō (島, tō?), also appeared in nautical atlases. This Iwo Jima reading became mainstream when the American forces arrived during World War II. Former residents protested this name and the Geographical Survey Institute, under the control of the Japan Coast Guard, debated the issue and formally announced[1] on June 18, 2007, that the official name of the island would be restored to the pre-war name Iōtō.[3][4][5][6]

As to 'erasing' history, the following should be thought provoking. Same source.

Reunion of honor

On February 19, 1985, the 40th anniversary of the day that U.S. forces began the assault on the island, veterans from both forces gathered for the Reunion of Honor just a few meters away from the spot where U.S. Marines had landed on the island.[7] During the memorial service a granite plaque was unveiled with the message:

On the 40th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima, American and Japanese veterans met again on these same sands, this time in peace and friendship. We commemorate our comrades, living and dead, who fought here with bravery and honor, and we pray together that our sacrifices on Iwo Jima will always be remembered and never be repeated.

It is inscribed on both sides of the plaque, with the English translation facing the beaches where U.S. forces landed and the Japanese translation facing inland, where Japanese troops defended their position.

After that, the Japan-U.S. combination memorial service of the 50th anniversary was held in front of this monument in March 1995. The 55th anniversary was held in 2000, followed by a 60th reunion in March 2005 (see U.S. National Park Service photo below).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwo_Jima

[Owen Miller]

Erasing history is exactly what the're doing. These are the same
folks who don't teach about WWII in schools, won't own up to
what they did to POWs, Chinese slave laborers, and other
captives. They deny the documented cannibalism, the existance
of the "comfort women", the profit structure for modern industries
from slave labor, Unit 731,etc, etc.

Let's have no PC - BS here --- it is what it is!!!

[Owen Miller]

Erasing history is exactly what the're doing. These are the same
folks who don't teach about WWII in schools, won't own up to
what they did to POWs, Chinese slave laborers, and other
captives. They deny the documented cannibalism, the existance
of the "comfort women", the profit structure for modern industries
from slave labor, Unit 731,etc, etc.

Let's have no PC - BS here --- it is what it is!!!

[Owen Miller]

Erasing history is exactly what the're doing. These are the same
folks who don't teach about WWII in schools, won't own up to
what they did to POWs, Chinese slave laborers, and other
captives. They deny the documented cannibalism, the existance
of the "comfort women", the profit structure for modern industries
from slave labor, Unit 731,etc, etc.

Let's have no PC - BS here --- it is what it is!!!

[Paul Krumrei]

It is now named Iwo To. The Japanese renamed the island to lay claim back to it. Erasing history?

No, they just named it back to what the original name was prior to WWII.

[Paul Krumrei]

Erasing history is exactly what the're doing. These are the same
folks who don't teach about WWII in schools, won't own up to
what they did to POWs, Chinese slave laborers, and other
captives. They deny the documented cannibalism, the existance
of the "comfort women", the profit structure for modern industries
from slave labor, Unit 731,etc, etc.

Let's have no PC - BS here --- it is what it is!!!

Of course they dont want to own up to it. That would make them look bad, but yet, they bitch and complain about how American's percive them in movies and books and such.

They were animals, back then. BUT I cannot blame that on the new generation of Japanize people. IT would be like blaming me now for Hitler, because I am german.

Instead of erasing history, people better start learning from it.

People need to know these things because we do not want them to happen again. People need to realize that you cannot change history, but covering it up with BS like this, is wrong and people will forget about it and not learn from mistakes they made.

[Connery]

Shouldn't this be in the Off Topics folder?

[mustangdriver]

Before this goes any further, I didn't mean to start a fight, I just think that this is something that most people here would be interested in reading about.

[Nathan]

Sounds like erasing history to me and a punch in the face to Americans who fought and died there.

Bad form if you ask me.

[SaxMan]

Whether the name changes, it can't erase the fact that a major battle occured there. I mean, even here in the United States, we can't agree on names of Civil War battles:

Bull Run = Manassas
Antietam = Sharpsburg
Shiloh = Pittsburgh Landing (IIRC)

I could go on and on. It doesn't matter what you call it, it doesn't erase what happened on that land.

[old iron]

Let us not forget that the Battle of Stalingrad was fought in modern-day Volgograd, Leningrad in present St. Petersburg. The name change does not change the name of the battle, just the present name of the locale.

Kevin

[muddyboots]

It's just an island.
The name doesn't matter.
What matters is the sacrifices made by American marines and Naval personel in defeating Imperial forces defending a way of life that had to end.
They hallowed that ground with their blood, and no name change will ever erase its memory.

As for erasing the memry of what they did~ you can expect that over the next 10 or 15 years, that will begin to change as the old veterans die off. The younger generation has an interest, and they will likely make sure it is taught, just as we today teach what happened to our Native American population.