Fallen Iwojima soldier's diary returned to his family

[Jim O]

The notebook of a Japanese soldier killed in the Battle of Iwojima that was taken as a souvenir by a U.S. soldier has been returned to his eldest son, more than 61 years after the guns fell silent on the island.

The notebook belonged to Nihei Tamura, who died in the fierce fighting at the age of 39. Hailing from Shinkamigotocho, Nagasaki Prefecture, Tamura kept daily records of ammunition supplies in the logbook, and his entries detailed the deteriorating war situation on the island as supplies ran low.

Tamura was dispatched to the island in July 1944 as a top sergeant of an infantry mortar battalion, and fell in combat on March 17, 1945.

The Association of Iwojima Japan for surviving soldiers and bereaved families received the book from the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States at a joint memorial service for the war dead held in March. The association made an inquiry about the notebook to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, and tracked down Tamura's family.

"I feel like my father has returned home for the first time in 62 years," Tamura's son Toyotoshi, 64, said after receiving his father's notebook.


Source: YOMIURI ONLINE�