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One particular war souvenir has always captivated a California woman: a map her father brought home from the battle of Iwo Jima.
Her father says he found the map inside the jacket of a dead Japanese soldier. He says he thinks he found it on February 21, 1945, two days after US forces invaded Iwo Jima.
The map is hand-drawn and labeled in Japanese. Yellowed and brittle, the map bears a faded stamp that appears to read, “Materials Examined.”
What is this map? And did it play a role in the battle of Iwo Jima? History Detectives attends the 65th Anniversary Battle of Iwo Jima Reunion and talks to the very men who fought in the battle. Then, military historians help us understand the role documents like this map could have played in key battles of World War II.
Iwo Jima Map
View the north end of the map, translated into English.
View the south end of the map, translated into English.
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