List of Japanese POWs - Iwo Jima

[GIZMO8Z]

On another forum I found this official list of Japanese POWs taken from Iwo Jima. 789 in total...

http://media.nara.gov/nw/2570407/Lis...n_Iwo_Jima.pdf

A quick Internet search tells me that 20,000-25,000 Japanese troops were on the island during the battle. The battle took place between Feb. 19 - Mar. 26 1945... This list states that the first Japanese prisoner was taken almost two weeks into the battle and that based on what figures you use, less than 5% of the total Japanese force survived the battle.

Take note of the ranks of the soldiers taken prisoner... The vast majority are EMs with far more NCOs than I would have expected. There's a mix of Army and Navy personnel (far more navy than I expected... Was there a navy installation on Iwo, or were these sailors brought to the island to serve as foot soldiers?) You don't see any officers until the 2nd half of the list (Apr. 16). I am also surprised by the amount of civilians that were still on the island (I thought the civilians on the island had been evacuated?)... And then there's one Korean (forced laborer?).

What else do you folks notice on this list? I think the list personifies just how brutal the fighting was on that small volcanic island...

[Adam M]

Great find, this will be a good resource for anyone researching the battle. These guys must be on that list.

[GIZMO8Z]

I have a combat helmet that belonged to a NAKAJIMA Kazu(o) 中島一 that was on Iwo... I'm going to check if he's on the list... But it's slow going on my cell phone...

[GIZMO8Z]

I have a combat helmet that belonged to a NAKAJIMA Kazu(o) 中島一 that was on Iwo... I'm going to check if he's on the list... But it's slow going on my cell phone...

I saw Nakajima on page 15 of the list and got incredibly excited! Unfortunately, it's a Shiro Nakajima and this particular person was a civilian. Unfortunately, I don't think this individual was the owner of my helmet.