Over the course of the last few months, a lot of you have let me know that you regularly forward the series of emails to friends, relatives and interested parties. Thank you! Yesterday I received an email letting me know that one of the friends – a US Naval Academy graduate from the Class of 1959 – let them know that his father, a Lt. Colonel in the US Marine Corp – had been assigned post-war duty on the island of Chichijima. Curiosity kicked in.

Chichijima is the largest and most populous of the Bonin Islands. Chichijima is located in the Pacific Ocean about 620 mi south of central Tokyo and 150 mi north of Iwo Jima. The island is only 9 sq. miles in size. It is the largest of the Bonin Islands and has traditionally (and still today) the seat of local government. The name “Chichijima” means “Father island.”

The Early Years. The island shows some evidence of early inhabitants and various explorers sighted the island (Dutch in 1639; English, Prussians and Russians in the 1820s ) but the “discovery” of the island was when a Japanese merchant shipwrecked there in 1669. The crew eventually repaired the ship 72 days later and sailed home to Japan but reported the unknown island. In May 1675 a specially commissioned expedition located the island, came ashore, collected samples of plants and animals, created preliminary charts and maps, and then returned home to Japan. The island was claimed by Japan, but since Japan was in full isolation, it was more pomp and ceremony since the island remained uninhabited.